Jailed crypto founder Sam Bankman-Fried seeks Trump pardon

Sam Bankman-Fried, the one-time giant in cryptocurrencies currently in prison for fraud, has applied for a pardon from President Donald Trump.

Bankman-Fried was given a 25-year sentence after he was convicted of multiple federal charges related to FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange that he founded and led, and its related company Alameda Research.

Just two years into that sentence, the 34-year-old former billionaire has now filed an application for pardon after completion of sentence to the Department of Justice, according to online records.

Should Bankman-Fried ultimately receive a pardon, his crimes would essentially be forgiven under the law.

A representative of the White House declined to comment. A lawyer for Bankman-Fried did not reply to a request for comment.

A "pardon after completion of sentence" would mean that Bankman-Fried's conviction on various counts of fraud would be forgiven after he serves his jail sentence.

He has not asked for a commutation, which is a shortening of a criminal sentence being served.

However, he is currently attempting to appeal against his sentence, and he has long maintained he is innocent.

Bankman-Fried became a famous face of crypto, a form of currency that only exists in digital form, as FTX became a popular crypto exchange used by millions of people.

The firm collapsed in 2022 amid claims that Bankman-Fried had been using deposited funds as his own, including to make personal investments and pay debts.

His application for a pardon appears alongside more than 20,000 requests for either pardon or commutations, according to records of the Office of the Pardon Attorney for the justice department.

Trump has issued a number of pardons during his second term in office, including for hundreds of people who participated in the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol Building, former members of his staff accused of crimes, the founder of a dark web marketplace where drugs were sold, and even the leader of another crypto platform, Binance.

Yet, Trump was asked earlier this year if he would pardon Bankman-Fried. He indicated at the time that he would not.