Short Description: Convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried publicly praises Donald Trump and criticizes Joe Biden amid speculation he is angling for a presidential pardon.
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Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is making a conspicuous and public pivot toward former President Donald Trump, lavishing praise on his crypto policies while sharply criticizing the Biden administration. This strategic shift comes just days after Caroline Ellison, his former colleague at Alameda Research, was released from federal custody. Observers widely interpret SBF’s flurry of supportive social media posts and interviews as a direct campaign for a presidential pardon from Trump, should he win the upcoming election. Traders on the prediction platform Polymarket currently assign only a 17% chance to a Bankman-Fried pardon before 2027, highlighting the speculative nature of his gambit.
Bankman-Fried’s praise extends beyond digital assets. He recently called Trump’s reported arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro “smart, gutsy, and pro-democracy.” Simultaneously, he has turned his fire on President Joe Biden, whom he once supported with millions in political donations. SBF claims “all the world leaders I met were fed up with Biden” and accused him of having “bungled crypto.” He specifically criticized Biden’s choice of Gary Gensler to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), whose “regulation by enforcement” approach defined the administration’s contentious stance toward the industry.
The context for SBF’s political maneuvering is his dire legal situation. Following the catastrophic FTX collapse in November 2022, Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven felony counts, including fraud and money laundering, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He has since appealed the conviction and is awaiting a ruling from a federal appeals court. His recent commentary aligns closely with pro- crypto sentiment within the GOP and contrasts with the regulatory posture of the Biden-era SEC, now led by Trump-appointed Chair Paul Atkins, who is viewed as more industry-friendly.
Short Summary: Sam Bankman-Fried is openly courting Donald Trump’s favor by praising his crypto stance and criticizing Biden’s SEC, in a transparent bid for a future pardon. His public relations campaign unfolds as he appeals a 25-year prison sentence for fraud related to the FTX collapse, with prediction markets giving him slim odds of success. This saga underscores the deepening intersection of cryptocurrency, political influence, and legal accountability.
