The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a nonbinding resolution on July 15, 2026, opposing any form of executive clemency for Sam Bankman-Fried, the convicted founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The measure, S. Res. 772, passed by unanimous consent with no senator objecting, reinforcing bipartisan determination to keep Bankman-Fried incarcerated without sentence reduction.
Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), co-chairs of the Senate Banking Committee’s digital assets subpanel, introduced the resolution. Lummis stated that Bankman-Fried “had his day in court,” while Gallego simply said, “Keep him locked up.” The resolution declares that the former FTX chief should “under no circumstances” receive a pardon or commutation, affirming the Senate’s commitment to the rule of law and the integrity of the U.S. financial system.
Bankman-Fried was convicted in November 2023 on seven fraud and conspiracy charges tied to FTX’s collapse, which prosecutors labeled one of the largest financial frauds in American history. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and, according to federal records, is not expected to be eligible for release until around 2044. His attempts to overturn the conviction suffered a setback when an appeals court upheld the verdict, rejecting claims that the trial was unfair. He nonetheless continues to pursue a formal pardon application, a move that drew the Senate’s formal rebuke.
The resolution’s backdrop includes President Trump’s earlier clemency grants to other crypto industry figures—pardoning Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht in January 2025 and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao in October 2025. Trump stated in January that he had no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried, and the White House reconfirmed that stance after the pardon application was filed.
FTX’s implosion in November 2022 was precipitated by revelations from CoinDesk about Alameda Research’s balance sheet, showing heavy reliance on FTX’s own FTT token. Binance’s subsequent announcement that it would liquidate its FTT holdings triggered a liquidity crisis and a wave of customer withdrawals. FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, 2022, unable to meet the demand. The Senate’s unanimous vote, while nonbinding, places the chamber firmly on record against any leniency and underscores the enduring political and symbolic weight of the scandal.
