President Donald Trump is reportedly considering pardoning 250 people to commemorate the US 250th birthday on July 4, according to The Wall Street Journal. An official announcement could come on June 14, Trump's birthday, or during Independence Day. The plan is preliminary, with over 16,000 formal requests submitted last year.
On his first day back in office, Trump issued more than 1,500 pardons connected to the 2021 Capitol storming. Several jailed crypto founders have been advocating for pardons since his inauguration.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in 2024 but Trump has reportedly ruled out a pardon. Keonne Rodriguez of Samourai Wallet has publicly sought clemency; Trump said last December he would review the case. A petition for Rodriguez has over 16,000 signatures.
Petitions for Tornado Cash founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov have few signatures. Storm was convicted last August; Semenov is wanted by the FBI.
Several crypto founders have already received pardons under Trump, including BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was pardoned in 2025. Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht was one of the first pardoned in January 2025.