Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents hope Trump might get their son out of jail

US President Donald Trump is becoming a source of hope for more cryptoasset-related convicts seeking early release from jail.

A recent report indicates that the parents of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), 32, the once-billionaire founder of the now-collapsed crypto exchange FTX, are exploring ways to secure a presidential pardon for their son, who was sentenced last year to 25 years in prison.

In recent weeks, Stanford Law School Professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried met with lawyers and other unspecified individuals from Trump's circles regarding the potential pardon, Bloomberg reported, citing "a person familiar with the matter." However, it is unclear whether any contact with the White House has been made. Moreover, another former FTX executive, Ryan Salame, is also reportedly seeking a pardon after being sentenced to seven years in prison.

Meanwhile, Trump and Bankman-Fried might have something in common, as both have accused US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of being unfair to them. Kaplan also presided over the defamation and sexual assault lawsuits brought against Trump.

However, SBF is also known for his generous support of Democrats and liberal-leaning groups, having donated tens of millions of dollars to them and appearing in pictures with top Democrats in Congress—something that might not help his case when seeking a pardon from the Republican president.

In March 2025, SBF was sentenced to 25 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $11 billion in forfeiture for orchestrating multiple fraudulent schemes. According to the sentence, SBF misappropriated billions of dollars in customer funds deposited with FTX, defrauded investors in FTX of more than $1.7 billion and defrauded lenders to Alameda of more than $1.3 billion.

However, FTX customers may regain their lost funds, as the company is now cleared to repay them after bankruptcy administrators managed to recover up to $16.5 billion.

Hopes for a pardon increased after Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the darknet market Silk Road, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole. However, unlike SBF, Ulbricht had strong support from Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto communities, as his sentence was largely seen as unjust.

Meanwhile, another prominent crypto figure, Roger Ver—an early Bitcoin advocate who later started the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) project, also recently sought a pardon while awaiting extradition from Spain on tax evasion charges. However, close Trump ally Elon Musk stated that Ver would not receive a pardon because he had renounced his US citizenship.