No chance of pardon: Why Sam Bankman-Fried will not share Ross Ulbricht fate

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Trump will not pardon Sam Bankman-Fried

U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not plan to pardon Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the CEO of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. He made the remarks during a two-hour interview with The New York Times, where he discussed potential pardons for several high-profile figures.

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Bankman-Fried was convicted in 2023 on charges of fraud and conspiracy. The court found that he misappropriated billions of dollars in customer funds, a key episode in one of the largest collapses in the history of the crypto market. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and is currently seeking to overturn the verdict on appeal.

Trump’s refusal is particularly telling given that, after returning to the White House, he has already pardoned several figures connected to the crypto industry — most notably Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road. But Sam Bankman-Fried is a matter of principle for Trump.

The political factor

In 2020, Sam Bankman-Fried was one of the largest donors to the Democratic Party, contributing millions of dollars to Joe Biden’s campaign and to candidates running against Donald Trump. At the height of his influence, SBF was widely seen as a “favorite financier” of the progressive wing, and his ties to Democrats were public and well documented.

For Trump, this is not just a symbolic issue but a practical one. Pardoning a person who financed his political opponents would look like a sign of weakness and would raise questions among his own voter base.

Moreover, the SBF case unfolded and concluded under the Biden administration, allowing Trump to distance himself from the process and frame the sentence as the outcome of a “foreign” system. In that context, Bankman-Fried’s hopes for a pardon look not only legally weak but also politically inconvenient — which is not the case with Ross Ulbricht.

Why Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht

The Silk Road darknet marketplace, created by Ross Ulbricht, became one of the most notorious platforms of the early 2010s, enabling the trade of illegal goods — primarily drugs — using bitcoin. In 2015, Ulbricht was convicted on multiple charges, including participation in a criminal enterprise, drug trafficking, and money laundering, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole — a punishment many viewed as excessive even given the seriousness of the charges.

Trump’s pardon was largely a political gesture. Ulbricht had long been a symbol for the libertarian movement, whose supporters argued that the state had gone too far by turning his case into a show trial with a life sentence. Their argument focused less on defending the crime itself and more on proportionality of punishment and individual rights.

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The Bitcoin community also played a key role. For the industry, the Silk Road story became part of the mythology of Bitcoin’s early era — a debate about privacy, internet freedom, and the limits of state control. Ulbricht was seen as a figure unfairly punished for a project that became a convenient target for the authorities at a time when cryptocurrency was just beginning to gain traction. Ultimately, the pardon looked like the fulfillment of a campaign promise and a symbolic nod to the crypto community.

Why Sam Bankman-Fried cannot be compared to Ross Ulbricht

The key difference between Ross Ulbricht and Sam Bankman-Fried lies in the nature of their actions. Ulbricht created a technological platform that was used by others for illegal trade, but he did not steal user funds or directly deceive customers.

Bankman-Fried, by contrast, was convicted of the direct theft of client assets. The court found that he knowingly used FTX customer funds to cover losses at an affiliated company, for personal expenses, and for political donations. This was classic financial fraud with proven, massive damage.

That is why attempts to put Bankman-Fried on the same level as Ulbricht fail to resonate with both the public and politicians. In one case, the debate is about excessive punishment and the symbolism of a case; in the other, it is about proven deception and stolen money. For Trump, pardoning Ulbricht was a gesture in defense of the idea of an “unjust sentence” and a signal to his supporters, while the SBF story is about trust, money, and responsibility to victims. As a result, Bankman-Fried’s bet on the “Silk Road precedent” looks misguided: his case is too toxic, and the justification too weak. Which means his chances of sharing Ulbricht’s fate are slim at best.

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