Sam Bankman-Fried, the infamous CEO of FTX, is making a last-ditch effort to curry favor with former President Donald Trump in hopes of securing a presidential pardon. The disgraced crypto mogul has been serving a 25-year sentence for his role in the collapse of FTX, but now he's claiming that he's been a Republican since 2022.
In an X thread posted on Thursday, Bankman-Fried expressed his admiration for Trump and praised him for being a pro-crypto stance. He also took aim at President Biden, calling him out for allegedly "bungling" crypto by appointing Gary Gensler as SEC chair, who has been enforcing traditional securities regulations on crypto assets.
Bankman-Fried's attempt to pivot to the Republican Party is not sitting well with many in the crypto community, however. His claims have been met with skepticism and even outrage on Crypto Twitter, where many are accusing him of trying to buy his way out of prison with Trump's favor.
Despite Trump's earlier doubts about granting Bankman-Fried a pardon, SBF seems determined to make a push for it. He has reportedly been ramping up his lobbying efforts with the Trump administration, and some even speculate that he may have had an interview with conservative media personality Tucker Carlson as part of his strategy.
However, not everyone is convinced that Bankman-Fried deserves a second chance. Many are still angry about the way he mishandled customer deposits from FTX, which ultimately led to the collapse of the crypto exchange. While some argue that customers were eventually made whole, others point out that they lost out on significant gains.
As for whether SBF can really be blamed for seeking a pardon, it's hard to say. After all, it worked out for former Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, who was in prison for his role in the crypto exchange's anti-money laundering shortcomings. But SBF's case is more complex, with allegations of corruption and pay-to-play politics surrounding his dealings.
For now, it seems that Bankman-Fried's pardon hopes are still a long shot. Prediction markets are placing odds at just 17% this year, despite low combined volumes of less than $25,000.
In an X thread posted on Thursday, Bankman-Fried expressed his admiration for Trump and praised him for being a pro-crypto stance. He also took aim at President Biden, calling him out for allegedly "bungling" crypto by appointing Gary Gensler as SEC chair, who has been enforcing traditional securities regulations on crypto assets.
Bankman-Fried's attempt to pivot to the Republican Party is not sitting well with many in the crypto community, however. His claims have been met with skepticism and even outrage on Crypto Twitter, where many are accusing him of trying to buy his way out of prison with Trump's favor.
Despite Trump's earlier doubts about granting Bankman-Fried a pardon, SBF seems determined to make a push for it. He has reportedly been ramping up his lobbying efforts with the Trump administration, and some even speculate that he may have had an interview with conservative media personality Tucker Carlson as part of his strategy.
However, not everyone is convinced that Bankman-Fried deserves a second chance. Many are still angry about the way he mishandled customer deposits from FTX, which ultimately led to the collapse of the crypto exchange. While some argue that customers were eventually made whole, others point out that they lost out on significant gains.
As for whether SBF can really be blamed for seeking a pardon, it's hard to say. After all, it worked out for former Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, who was in prison for his role in the crypto exchange's anti-money laundering shortcomings. But SBF's case is more complex, with allegations of corruption and pay-to-play politics surrounding his dealings.
For now, it seems that Bankman-Fried's pardon hopes are still a long shot. Prediction markets are placing odds at just 17% this year, despite low combined volumes of less than $25,000.
I mean, I'm all for redemption stories, but come on, dude. You crashed a billion-dollar company and put people's lives savings at risk. That takes more than just "being a Republican" to fix 
. And let's be real, if you're trying to sweet-talk your way into Trump's good books, that's not exactly the most convincing PR stunt 
. I still think he's got a long way to go before I'd even consider giving him another chance 
.
, always thought SBF was dodgy from the start... all these attempts to curry favor with Trump are probably just a PR stunt 
and won't actually change anyone's mind. Can you imagine if it worked? It'd be like a slap in the face to all those people who lost money on FTX 
. Prediction markets are probably low for a reason...
He thought he could just charm his way out of prison with Trump? 
It's not gonna work, fam 
His whole FTX thing was a mess, and now he's trying to spin it as some kind of crypto hero story? 
And let's be real, if Trump was gonna help him out, he would've done it by now, not just when SBF is making some big push for it 
. I feel bad for the customers who lost out on big gains... and yet, we can't just forget everything just because SBF says sorry 
. And then there's the whole pardon thing - it's gotta be tough to justify giving someone a second chance when they've been pretty reckless with people's money 
... I guess only time will tell if Trump actually bites 
he's basically begging Trump for a pardon and it's kinda gross. But like, on the other hand... maybe his claims about being a Republican since 2022 aren't as fake as everyone thinks 
. I mean, who knows what's in SBF's heart anymore? 
The crypto community is really harshing his mellow though... might just end up with a Trump pardon and be back to his old tricks 
. But would I want him to get one? No way, I still think he got what was coming to him 
. And yeah, Trump's pro-crypto stance is a major plus in his book! 
As for pardon hopes being low... I think that's a reflection of how toxic the crypto space has become 
. People need to take responsibility for their actions and stop playing the victim card. It's gonna be interesting to see if SBF can turn things around and earn back some credibility 
btw, CZ got off scot free with his crypto shenanigans so maybe sbf just needs to up his game 
. anyway, i'm keeping an eye on this story 
I mean, the guy's already serving a 25-year sentence for allegedly mishandling customer deposits and now he's trying to spin it as a pro-crypto stance? It's like he thinks we're all just gonna forget about the whole FTX fiasco 
I'm also kinda curious about what Trump will really do if SBF comes crawling to him with this pardon plea... will he really grant it or just use it as leverage? 
Newsflash: if you messed up big time like he did, you don't just "pivot" to the other side and expect everyone to forget 
) with customers' cash and now he's trying to charm his way out of prison? 
.
. But let's be real, 25 years is still a long way off for any chance at freedom 
. And his claims that he's been a Republican since 2022? Yeah, good luck with that, buddy 
. Wouldn't that be nice? 
17% this year? More like 0%, imo