The man who caused the biggest fraud in crypto history just asked the President of the United States to set him free.Sam Bankman-Fried, the FTX founder serving 25 years for fraud, has formally applied for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. The application is listed on the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Pardon Attorney website as a request for "pardon after completion of sentence" — not immediate release. It is currently listed as pending. CoinbaseHere's the full context of this extraordinary move:⚖️ The crime: Bankman-Fried, now 34, co-founded FTX and was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after being found guilty of orchestrating a massive fraud scheme that misused billions of dollars in customer funds at FTX and its affiliated trading firm, Alameda Research. Crypto Times🔄 The political pivot: As CEO of FTX, Bankman-Fried was one of the largest donors to Democratic campaigns. While serving in federal prison, he has posted support of the Trump administration on social media. In a Fox Business interview Monday, he said he "absolutely" wants a presidential pardon. Coinbase🚫 Trump's previous answer: Trump said in a January interview with the New York Times that he would not pardon Bankman-Fried. However, Trump has issued more than 1,400 pardons in his second term — including Ross Ulbricht (Silk Road founder) and Changpeng Zhao (former Binance CEO). Crypto Times🧮 The calculation SBF is making:
→ Trump has shown he will pardon crypto-adjacent figures
→ CZ got a pardon. Ross got a pardon. Why not SBF?
→ Dan Greenberg, senior legal fellow at the Cato Institute, said: "The pardon of one more celebrity white collar criminal would not surprise me." CoinMarketCapThe crypto community is split. Some say SBF destroyed trust in the industry and deserves every year of his sentence. Others argue Trump's pro-crypto stance should extend to pardoning figures who — whether recklessly or criminally — were building in the space.One thing is certain: if Trump pardons SBF, it will be the most controversial moment in crypto's political history.Should SBF get a pardon? 👇 Yes / No / It's complicated