Trump Weighs 250 Pardons as Crypto Founders Push for Clemency

President Donald Trump is reportedly contemplating granting 250 pardons to mark the United States' 250th birthday on July 4. An announcement could be made on June 14, Trump's birthday, or on Independence Day itself. These potential pardons are still in the preliminary stages and have not been confirmed, with over 16,000 formal pardon requests submitted last year. Several crypto founders and their supporters have been actively seeking pardons from Trump. Notably, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, convicted and sentenced to 25 years, has been campaigning for a pardon, though Trump reportedly ruled it out earlier this year. Keonne Rodriguez, a developer behind Samourai Wallet, has also expressed hope for a pardon, which Trump indicated he would review. Petitions are also active for Tornado Cash founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, though with limited signatures. Storm was convicted of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, while Semenov is a fugitive. Crypto advocates argue that Rodriguez and Storm should not be held responsible for third-party actions. In the past, Trump has granted pardons to several crypto figures, including the co-founders of BitMEX (Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Samuel Reed), Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.

(Source：Cointelegraph)