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Zafar Naik
Zafar Naik
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- Feb 21, 2025 07:01 UTC
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FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried Begs Trump for Pardon – Will Crypto’s Fallen King Walk Free?
Sam Bankman-Fried, serving a 25-year sentence, claims his case was politically motivated and sees Trump as his best chance for release.
SBF now distances himself from Democrats, calling them difficult to work with, while his family quietly pushes for a pardon.
Other convicted crypto figures, including Roger Ver and Virgil Griffith, also seek pardons.
After Ross Ulbricht’s shocking release – granted by President Donald Trump in January 2025—others are hoping for a second chance. And now, the disgraced crypto billionaire is making waves from behind bars. Instead of staying quiet, he’s speaking out, throwing jabs at the Biden administration, and hinting that Trump might be his only way out.
In a surprising turn, SBF is breaking his silence in a new interview, claiming his downfall was political, not criminal. But will Trump listen?
SBF: Trump, Not Biden
In an interview with The New York Sun, Sam Bankman-Fried suggested that Trump—not Biden—was his best shot at freedom. Speaking for the first time since receiving a 25-year sentence, the FTX founder criticized the Biden administration, claiming his case was politically motivated. He argued that he wasn’t guilty of fraud but was a victim of “prosecutorial overreach.”
He insisted that FTX was not bankrupt but only lacked liquidity when it collapsed in 2022. According to him, law firm Sullivan & Cromwell mismanaged the bankruptcy. Now that FTX is repaying customers, he pointed out that they are getting reimbursed based on 2022 crash prices instead of today’s much higher values – something he sees as unfair.
Supporters Step In
His parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, are reportedly working behind the scenes to secure a presidential pardon, though no official request has been made public. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s cryptic post about SBF’s political connections has fueled further speculation.
Bankman-Fried has also distanced himself from the Democratic Party, despite once being the second-largest donor to Biden’s 2020 campaign. He called the Biden administration “difficult to work with” and said Republicans have been more reasonable in their approach.
Comparing His Case to Trump’s Legal Battles
SBF drew a comparison between his situation and Trump’s legal troubles before the 2024 election. Trump had faced criminal charges over classified documents and alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election—cases that disappeared once he returned to the White House. According to SBF, this proves that the justice system is politically influenced.
He also pointed out that the judge in his trial, Lewis Kaplan, was the same one who ruled against Trump in a high-profile defamation case. This, he suggested, was another sign of bias.
Adding to his argument, he mentioned his former associate, Ryan Salame, a Republican donor who received a harsher 90-month sentence. He implied that political bias may have played a role in their differing punishments.
The Crypto World Watches Closely
Bankman-Fried isn’t the only crypto figure hoping for a Trump pardon. Supporters are also pushing for clemency for Roger “Bitcoin Jesus” Ver and Ethereum researcher Virgil Griffith, who was convicted for discussing crypto in North Korea.
Despite his legal troubles, SBF insists money is not his main concern. But with Trump previously pardoning Ross Ulbricht, the former FTX chief hopes history will repeat itself—this time, in his favor.
Trump has the power to free him. The only question left—will he use it?
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