Trump Pardoned Ross Ulbricht And Changpeng Zhao, But Won't Touch SBF — Here's Why

Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC whitethorn gain committee oregon gross connected immoderate items done the links below.

President Donald Trump told The New York Times helium volition not pardon erstwhile FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who is serving 25 years for fraud and conspiracy, contempt granting clemency to different crypto figures including Binance laminitis Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and Ross Ulbricht.

Bankman-Fried’s parents, erstwhile Stanford Law School professors Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman, reportedly met with lawyers and others successful Trump’s orbit attempting to unafraid a pardon.

The lobbying run failed to sway Trump, who is simply a large governmental backer of the Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and integer assets entrepreneur.

Don't Miss:

• The AI Marketing Platform Backed by Insiders from Google, Meta, and Amazon — Invest astatine $0.85/Share

• Missed the AI Boom's Biggest IPOs? This Platform Lets Everyday Investors Access Private Tech Early

SBF conducted a Republican-friendly media rehabilitation circuit successful caller months and repeatedly praised Trump’s pardon of erstwhile Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández for cocaine importation.

However, the strategy didn’t work.

Bankman-Fried donated $5.2 cardinal to the Biden run successful 2020, perchance creating governmental complications for a Trump pardon.

He’s presently appealing his condemnation and is housed astatine Metropolitan Detention Center successful Brooklyn, reportedly successful the aforesaid dormitory arsenic rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, who besides won’t person clemency.

Trump’s refusal to pardon SBF stands successful crisp opposition to his clemency for different crypto manufacture figures.

In January 2025, Trump freed Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road’s laminitis who served implicit a decennary for facilitating $1 cardinal successful amerciable cause transactions.

Trending: If determination was a caller money backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% people output with monthly dividends would you put successful it?

In March, Trump pardoned BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Samuel Reed, and Gregory Dwyer, who violated anti-money laundering laws.

The astir arguable pardon came successful October erstwhile Trump freed Binance laminitis CZ, who had pleaded blameworthy to enabling wealth laundering and paid $50 cardinal successful fines.

Critics including Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-mass.) alleged corruption, noting Binance invested $2 cardinal successful Trump’s World Liberty Financial project (CRYPTO: WLFI).

That concern perchance generates $48-52 cardinal annually for Trump’s family.

Binance besides spent $800,000 lobbying for clemency, though CZ denied immoderate quid pro quo arrangement.