The parents of Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former CEO of FTX, are reportedly exploring legal avenues to secure a presidential pardon for their son, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison last March.
According to a Bloomberg report published on 30 January 2025, Bankman-Fried’s parents have met with lawyers and individuals with ties to the Trump administration to assess the possibility of clemency.
While the effort remains in its early stages, the report suggests that the family is actively seeking ways to reduce or overturn the sentence of their son, who was convicted on multiple fraud charges.
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Trump’s Crypto Stance Sparks Hope for Bankman-Fried’s Pardon
Bankman-Fried’s downfall began in late 2022, when FTX collapsed after failing to process customer withdrawals. Investigations later revealed that the company had been misusing customer funds, leading to one of the most significant financial scandals in crypto history.
In November 2023, Bankman-Fried was found guilty on seven counts, including wire fraud, securities fraud, and commodities fraud, with his sentencing finalized on March 28, 2024.
While a pardon under President Joe Biden was once considered unlikely, some believe the Trump administration’s stance on crypto could offer Bankman-Fried a better chance at clemency.
White-collar prison consultant Sam Mangel told Bloomberg that multiple high-profile defendants have already submitted clemency requests since Trump’s re-election.
Speculation about Bankman-Fried’s future has intensified following Trump’s pardon of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was released after serving 11 years of a double life sentence.
Thanks to @realDonaldTrump's pardon, Ross got to hug his wife, mom, dad & sister outside the walls of prison. The past 36 hours have been a complete whirlwind and we keep pinching ourselves to make sure we're not dreaming.
So much gratitude, love, and hope for what's to come.… pic.twitter.com/A7vL5s6IEM
— Free_Ross (@Free_Ross) January 23, 2025
However, some legal experts argue that Ulbricht’s case was viewed as government overreach, whereas Bankman-Fried’s conviction was centered on large-scale financial fraud, making a pardon far from guaranteed.
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FTX Settles Lawsuit With Bybit
Last year, the FTX bankruptcy estate reached a $228 million settlement with the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit to recover funds for repaying former FTX customers and creditors.
Under the terms of the settlement, FTX will retrieve $175 million in digital assets held by Bybit, and an additional $53 million in BIT tokens, which will be sold to Mirana Corp, Bybit’s investment arm.
FTX originally launched a $1 billion lawsuit against Bybit and Mirana in late 2023. It alleged that these entities used special privileges and “VIP” access to pre-emptively withdraw $327 million in digital assets and cash in the days leading up to FTX’s downfall.
The FTX bankruptcy estate set a goal to begin customer repayments by early 2025.
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