Sam Bankman-Fried, the imprisoned founder of the collapsed FTX exchange, has formally applied for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. The move triggered a sharp rally in the FTT token, which rose more than 50 percent in a day.
Bankman-Fried submitted the clemency petition through the Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney. The application is now listed as pending. He is serving a 25-year sentence handed down in March 2024 after convictions on fraud and conspiracy charges tied to the November 2022 collapse of FTX. The filing coincided with a surge in trading of FTT, the former exchange token. CryptoSlate reported a more than 50 percent price increase within 24 hours, with the token reaching $0.35 and volume climbing above $16 million. The gains occurred despite FTT having no active utility or development following the bankruptcy. President Trump has previously stated he would not grant clemency to Bankman-Fried. In a January 2026 interview, Trump grouped the FTX founder with others he did not intend to pardon, even as he has issued pardons for other crypto figures such as Changpeng Zhao. Bankman-Fried confirmed his interest in a pardon during a recent FOX Business interview, saying the decision would ultimately rest with the president.
