No Get Out of Jail Card for SBF

If Sam Bankman-Fried was hoping for presidential intervention, he can stop hoping now. President Donald Trump told The New York Times he has no intention of pardoning the disgraced FTX founder, squashing speculation about clemency that had been fueled by a campaign from Bankman-Fried's family and supporters.

During the interview, Trump also ruled out pardons for music star Sean Combs and recently deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, making it clear that high-profile status won't buy special treatment.

Bankman-Fried, once heralded as crypto's golden boy who promised to "build the future of finance," is currently serving a 25-year sentence for fraud. He was convicted of misappropriating customer funds from his Bitcoin (BTC) exchange FTX, using the money for personal expenses, political donations, and venture capital investments. With good conduct credits, he's projected to serve about 21 years. SBF maintains his conviction was politically motivated, but Trump's comments suggest that argument isn't landing in Washington.

Trump Embraces Crypto, Anyway

Interestingly, Trump's refusal to help Bankman-Fried doesn't extend to crypto itself. The president doubled down on his support for the industry during the interview, saying, "I got a lot of votes because I backed crypto, and I got to like it."

Trump went further, vowing to establish the U.S. as the "global leader" in cryptocurrency. "China wanted it, and one of us was going to get it," he added, framing the crypto race as a matter of national competition.

Family Business Raises Eyebrows

Here's where things get complicated. Trump's crypto enthusiasm isn't exactly abstract. His family has deep financial ties to the industry, which has sparked allegations of conflicts of interest.

The Trump family co-founded World Liberty Financial (CRYPTO: WLFI), a DeFi and stablecoin project that lists the president and his three sons as co-founders. They also hold a stake in American Bitcoin (ABTC), a Bitcoin mining company. And just before Trump took office, the Official Trump (CRYPTO: TRUMP) and MELANIA (CRYPTO: MELANIA) meme coins launched, adding another layer to the family's crypto portfolio.

TD Cowen has warned that these family connections could actually delay passage of a crypto market structure bill, as lawmakers grapple with the optics of regulating an industry where the president's family has significant financial interests. So Trump wants to lead crypto forward, but his own involvement might be slowing down the legislation needed to get there.