Which Crypto Founders Are Seeking Pardons From President Trump?

President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto actions have ushered in a more favorable regulatory and enforcement regime for crypto.When campaigning for his second term, the President Two months later, Trump also Those pardons have given hope to other notable personalities from the crypto sphere, who are in some cases directly petitioning the President for a pardon. Here’s the growing list of convicted crypto founders who are seeking relief from Trump.Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said in an exclusive interview with In the interview, Zhao dismissed claims that “There’s a lot of news articles saying I’m trying to exchange Binance.US equity for a pardon,” Zhao said. “That’s completely not true. I’ve had zero discussions about Binance.US equity with anyone.” Rather, Zhao said he is taking the legal path in search of a pardon, having lawyers apply for him a couple of weeks before his interview at Token2049 Dubai at the end of April. “If they’re writing these articles, we might as well officially apply, right?” he said, adding that he “certainly wouldn’t mind” receiving a pardon. Imprisoned FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, is reported to be campaigning for a pardon from the president. SBF’s parents and Stanford Law Professors Joseph Bankman and Barabra Fried are said to be doing the legwork, according to The now disgraced crypto founder was charged with In the most public display of those on this list, Roger “Bitcoin Jesus” Ver begged President Trump for a pardon An early investor in Bitcoin, a backer of a number of crypto firms, and co-founder of the Bitcoin Foundation, Ver faces jail time for charges of tax evasion with a federal Mr. President, I am an American, and I need your help. Only you, with your commitment to justice, can save me @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/WhVTZ1M1GB— Roger Ver (@rogerkver) January 26, 2025But in Ver’s case, the situation is complicated, as he denounced his U.S. Citizenship, leading Elon Musk to suggest there would be “no pardon for Ver,” adding that “membership has its privileges.”Ver was arrested in 2024 and is currently fighting extradition to the United States while out on bail in Spain. In April 2025, he paid Trump Arguably less well-known than other names on this list, Jobadiah (or Joby) Weeks pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to offer and sell unregistered securities in 2020 in connection to BitClub, one of crypto’s most notable Ponzi schemes that BitClub famously lobbied for money from investors to buy mining equipment to generate notable Bitcoin returns, with the expectation that investors would receive a share of the mining profits.While Weeks did not directly mention a pardon, he did allude to it, Edited by Andrew Hayward