President Donald Trump has reiterated that he will not pardon Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the convicted former FTX CEO. This comes amid SBF’s recent social media campaign from prison, where he has praised Trump’s policies, supported crypto-friendly legislation like the CLARITY Act, criticized past regulators, and attempted to align himself with the administration—apparently in hopes of securing clemency.
However, a White House spokesperson has now explicitly confirmed to outlets like Fortune that Trump has no intention of granting a pardon. They referred back to Trump’s earlier statements in a January 2026 New York Times interview, where he directly ruled out pardoning SBF along with others like Robert Menendez and Nicolás Maduro.
The spokesperson emphasized: “The President is the ultimate decider on all pardons.” This shuts down speculation, especially since Trump has pardoned other crypto figures like Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, but views SBF’s case—tied to fraud, conspiracy, and the massive FTX collapse—as different due to the scale of victim impact and conviction details.
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SBF is serving a 25-year sentence, and his recent efforts including family lobbying and media appearances have not changed the administration’s stance. Recent X posts reflect the news circulating quickly in crypto communities, with many noting the “door is slammed shut” on any relief for SBF.
SBF remains firmly on track to serve his full 25-year federal sentence for fraud, conspiracy, and related charges tied to the FTX collapse. His recent prison-based social media campaign—praising Trump’s policies, supporting pro-crypto legislation like the CLARITY Act has proven entirely ineffective.
Focus shifts to other avenues: With pardon off the table, SBF’s remaining options are limited to ongoing appeals, potential retrial motions, or future commutation requests under different circumstances. Legal experts view his appeals as weak, so this likely means decades more in prison unless something dramatic changes.
Personal and family efforts rebuffed: Family lobbying and media outreach including proxy communications have failed to move the needle, underscoring the administration’s view that SBF’s case—due to massive victim harm and his past political donations heavily to Democrats and Biden in 2020—sets him apart from others.
Trump’s administration has pardoned other crypto figures like Binance’s Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and reportedly Arthur Hayes of BitMEX, signaling a broader “war on crypto” rollback from the Biden era. However, explicitly excluding SBF draws a clear line: regulatory relief and lighter enforcement apply to compliance failures or lesser offenses, but not large-scale fraud with direct retail victim losses (estimated at billions).
Positive signal for investor confidence: Sources describe this as creating a “safer environment” by showing the “Wild West” era of unchecked misconduct is ending. It emphasizes standard financial accountability, which could encourage legitimate innovation while deterring bad actors.
Some see it as proof that political repositioning won’t erase fraud consequences. No major crypto market movements appear tied to this news; Bitcoin, Ethereum, or altcoins like $FTT haven’t shown significant volatility from it. The FTX ecosystem is already defunct, and the decision was widely anticipated after Trump’s January 2026 statements.
It underscores that pro-crypto policies won’t extend to bailing out fraudsters. This could bolster long-term legitimacy for the industry by distancing it from FTX-era scandals. Trump positions himself as the “ultimate decider” on pardons, grouping SBF with figures like Nicolás Maduro and Robert Menendez—high-profile cases involving serious corruption or harm—rather than treating him as a crypto peer deserving leniency.
This closes a chapter of speculation and reinforces that while the Trump administration is crypto-friendly in regulation, it draws firm red lines on fraud with widespread victim impact. The “door is slammed shut,” as many in the space have put it, with little prospect of reversal in the near term.