The former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has revealed in an interview with Fox Business that he “absolutely” wants a presidential pardon from Donald Trump.
In a phone conversation with Susan Li, the disgraced crypto mogul confirmed he would welcome such clemency from the White House but denied to answer whether his family is lobbying for it, stating he “can’t speak for them.”
Recall that SBF received a 25-year prison sentence in March 2024 after the dramatic and painful collapse of the exchange he ran for years, FTX, in November 2022.
He was convicted on multiple counts, including wire fraud and conspiracy. Court findings revealed massive financial damage as FTX customers lost around $8 billion, investors around $1.7 billion, and lenders to Alameda Research (SBF’s other venture), approximately $1.3 billion.
SBF has continued to challenge the narrative surrounding the case despite the conviction. In the interview now, he claimed he had not stolen user funds and pointed to ongoing bankruptcy proceedings that have reportedly led to customers recovering more than their original deposits due to the rebound in crypto prices.
According to his estimations, some users may have received up to 170% of their initial balance, which, he added, meant that the platform was ultimately “over-collateralized.”
FTT, the native token of the FTX exchange, reacted with an instant price uptick after the interview went live. The token is currently up by over 50% on a daily scale, trading around $0.37 for the first time in almost a month.
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