Crypto industry watches closely as Trump weighs 250 pardons

U.S. President Donald Trump’s reported plans for a large-scale pardon announcement have renewed attention on jailed cryptocurrency executives and software developers who have spent months seeking clemency from the White House.

According to a Thursday report from The Wall Street Journal, Trump is considering pardoning around 250 people as part of events tied to the United States’ 250th Independence Day celebrations. People familiar with the matter told the publication that the administration could unveil the pardons either on June 14, which is Trump’s birthday, or during July 4 events next year.

Discussions inside the White House are still at an early stage, the report said, and no final decisions have been confirmed. More than 16,000 pardon applications were formally submitted last year.

Within the crypto sector, several convicted founders and developers have continued pushing for presidential clemency since Trump returned to office. The campaign has gained traction after multiple crypto-linked figures already secured pardons during his second term.

Crypto industry figures continue pardon push

Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried remains among the most closely watched names connected to possible clemency discussions. Convicted in 2023 on seven criminal counts tied to the collapse of FTX, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison the following year.

In recent months, Bankman-Fried has attempted to rebuild political and public support through social media activity and interviews. Earlier reports, however, indicated Trump had privately dismissed the possibility of granting him a pardon.

Separate lobbying efforts have emerged around Keonne Rodriguez, a developer behind the crypto-mixing service Samourai Wallet. Trump said in December that he would review Rodriguez’s case and examine the possibility of clemency.

An online petition supporting Rodriguez had collected 16,082 signatures by Thursday.

At the same time, supporters of Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Roman Semenov have also launched pardon petitions, though public backing has remained limited so far. One petition for Storm showed 22 signatures Thursday, while another supporting Semenov had only nine.

Storm has not publicly requested a pardon. Last August, U.S. prosecutors secured a conviction against him on charges tied to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. He still faces separate allegations connected to money laundering conspiracy and sanctions violations.

Federal authorities continue to list Semenov as wanted by the FBI.

Legal cases involving Samourai Wallet and Tornado Cash developers have become a major point of debate inside the crypto industry, where privacy advocates and open-source software supporters argue that developers should not be held criminally responsible for how independent users interact with decentralized tools.

Several crypto executives already received clemency

Trump has already approved pardons for multiple high-profile figures connected to the cryptocurrency sector during his current term.

Last year, BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed received pardons after previously pleading guilty to violations of the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act related to anti-money laundering and know-your-customer failures.

Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao also secured a pardon in 2025. Zhao had served a four-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance.

Earlier in Trump’s presidency, Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht received clemency for the life sentence tied to his operation of the dark web marketplace.