From inside a federal prison cell, disgraced crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried is making a direct bid for a White House lifeline. In a phone interview with FOX Business, the former FTX founder said he "absolutely" wants a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump.
"Absolutely. It would be obviously, you know, ultimately up to the president, not up to me," he said.
Bankman-Fried declined to confirm whether his family is currently lobbying the administration on his behalf, saying only, "I can't speak for them."
In March 2024, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted on two counts of wire fraud and five counts of conspiracy. The court found that the November 2022 collapse of his crypto empire resulted in approximately $8 billion in losses for FTX customers, $1.7 billion for equity investors, and $1.3 billion for lenders to Alameda Research.
Key Development Today: Bankman-Fried has formally submitted a presidential pardon application through the Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney.
Bankman-Fried Defends His Case
Despite his conviction, Bankman-Fried continued to argue that the prosecution was unjust, citing the recovery in cryptocurrency markets that has allowed the bankruptcy estate to repay customers more than they originally lost.
"I didn't steal user funds either. Customers have been repaid now 170% or so on their deposits. It's one of the very few cases where the platform was over-collateralized, where customers were more than made whole. And yet there was, you know, not just a criminal investigation, but a prosecution. And, you know, dozens of years of sentence[s]." -SBF
He added that it is "a great disservice" to customers that it has taken three years for them to be repaid nearly twice what they had on the platform.
Regrets Missing the AI Boom, Praises Musk
When asked about his fear of missing out on major technological developments, SBF expressed frustration at being unable to participate from prison.
"It's a concern I have. You know, there's a lot that I did try and position... I'd certainly much rather be, you know, able to help that out from the outside than in here where there's very little I can do."
He then praised Elon Musk and SpaceX, saying the company has "extremely large potential" and noting parallels with how few companies are positioned to play a major role in the space industry.
Today's interview is the latest in a months-long effort by Bankman-Fried to secure clemency. He has posted pro-Trump messages via prison-approved proxies and his parents have previously explored clemency options with lawyers connected to the Trump orbit.
For example, back in March...
While President Trump has granted clemency to other crypto figures, including Binance's Changpeng Zhao, he previously told The New York Times he does not plan to pardon Bankman-Fried. Some members of Congress and voices in the crypto industry have urged him to deny the request.