From prison to the White House, Encrypt the Godfathers’ "Trump Absolution Economics"

Original | Odaily Planet Daily

Author | Dingdang

Binance founder CZ confirmed on a podcast on May 8 that his lawyer team has filed a pampering application with U.S. President Trump on his behalf. The move has sparked widespread attention from the crypto industry on Trump's amnesty policy.

With Trump returning to the White House in early 2025, he has signed a pardon or commutation order to benefit more than 1,600 people, far exceeding the total number of his first term. There are also cases of criminals in the crypto industry applying for amnesty or have been granted. Behind this is a chess game with political motivations and emerging financial forces, reflecting the deep "alliance" between the crypto industry and Trump.

Crypto person applying for amnesty

Changpeng Zhao (CZ): Founder of Binance Exchange

As the helm of Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, CZ can be regarded as the "godfather" figure in the crypto industry. In November 2024, CZ was sentenced to four months in prison and a $50 million fine by the U.S. Department of Justice for violating the Bank Secrecy Act and failing to effectively implement anti-money laundering measures. Despite the light sentence, his career has been hit hard. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, even if the amnesty is obtained, it will not be eliminated, but it may be allowed to re-enter the administrative position at Binance.US.

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF): Founder of FTX Exchange

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, once a dazzling star in the crypto industry, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024 and confiscated $11 billion in property due to the platform crash in 2022 and the fraud of billions of dollars in customer funds.

On a podcast in March 2025, he claimed that he was sentenced to 25 years in part because of his growing ties with the Republican Party before his arrest. In fact, the SBF has donated more than $40 million to 196 members of Congress, including senior Republican and Democratic leaders, with one-third of them receiving funds from him. He also criticized former SEC chairman Gary Gensler and the way in which he regulated the crypto industry in an interview.

SBF’s parents — former Stanford Law professor Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman — are reportedly meeting lawyers and others in the Trump circle to try to win a presidential pardon for their son. SBF also recently posted comments on social media about the difficulty of layoffs, criticized by crypto communities as an attempt to please the Trump administration.

Roger Ver: Early Bitcoin Evangelist

Roger Ver, nicknamed "Bitcoin Jesus", is a veteran of the crypto industry. He established his industry influence by promoting Bitcoin as early as 2011. However, in 2024, Ver was prosecuted by U.S. authorities for suspected tax fraud and tax evasion and faces up to seven years in prison.

Roger's wealth stems from early Bitcoin investments, but his long-term living in Japan and abandoning his U.S. nationality has attracted much attention from his tax issues. It is reported that Roger has hired lawyers and lobbyists who are close to Trump to try to get rid of the legal dilemma with amnesty.

Crypto-related persons who have been granted amnesty

Ross Ulbricht: Founder of the Silk Road

Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to two life imprisonment plus 40 years in 2015 for creating and operating the Dark Web Market Silk Road, which is actually a possible life imprisonment without parole. The Silk Road was mainly used to buy and sell drugs anonymously from 2011 to 2013, and is widely regarded as the first real use case of Bitcoin.

On May 26, 2024, Trump promised at the Liberal National Convention in Washington, DC that if he is re-elected as president, he will exempt Ross Ulbricht from his sentence on the first day. Trump said Ulbricht has served 11 years in prison and “we’re going to get him home.” On January 21, 2025, he fulfilled his promise, signed a pardon order, and called his family in person.

Arthur Hayes: Founder of BitMEX Exchange

As the founder of BitMEX, Arthur Hayes has promoted the popularization of derivatives trading in the crypto industry. However, in 2022, Hayes was sentenced to six months in prison at home and paid a $10 million fine for violating anti-money laundering regulations. Hayes' light sentence was related to his voluntary plead guilty and his cooperation in the investigation, but his career was still hit hard.

White House officials confirmed that Hayes had received Trump's pardon in early 2025. In addition, Trump also pardoned two other co-founders of BitMEX, Samuel Reed and Benjamin Delo. This move is considered another example of Trump's "tolerance policy" to the crypto industry. After the amnesty, Hayes publicly stated that he would focus on crypto education and policy advocacy.

Trump's in-depth alliance with the crypto industry

Trump's pardon for crypto industry figures is not a simple legal act, but a carefully planned political chess game aimed at consolidating his political landscape in the emerging financial field. First, the crypto industry played an important role in the 2024 U.S. election. The Political Action Committee Fairshake raised over $200 million to support pro-crypto candidates including Trump; Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong called for loose regulation through public speeches and policy lobbying to build momentum for Trump's crypto-friendly commitments; venture capitalist Marc Andreessen donated $2.5 million to the super political action committee that supports Trump through his company Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z) to actively promote crypto-friendly policies. These resources provide a solid backing for Trump's victory and make his "reward" to the crypto industry inevitable.

Secondly, pardons such as Ross Ulbricht accurately cater to the decentralized concept of the crypto community and its resistance to government regulation. Although Ulbricht's Silk Road involves illegal transactions, many people believe it represents a spirit of decentralization and anti-authority. By releasing Ulbricht, Trump not only won the enthusiastic support of crypto fans, but also attracted voters who advocate freedom. This "treatment of the way" practice has successfully made Trump regarded as a "protector" in the crypto industry, further consolidating his political influence.