The White House is weighing a plan to issue 250 presidential pardons to mark the United States’ 250th anniversary, according to The Wall Street Journal. The number is symbolic — one for each year of the nation’s existence. Two dates are under consideration: June 14, Flag Day and Trump’s 80th birthday, and July 4, the semiquincentennial itself. This has electrified crypto-industry defendants who have been lobbying for clemency since Trump returned to office.
Internal Divisions Over Politics and Scale
Discussions remain preliminary and no final decision has been made. Some White House officials worry about bad political optics ahead of the midterm elections, where Republican Congressional seats look vulnerable. Others argue 250 is too high a number. If executed, it would push Trump’s second-term clemency tally past 1,600, dwarfing the 250 he issued in his first term.
Crypto Defendants Pinning Hopes on Anniversary Clemency
More than 16,000 formal pardon petitions were filed last year alone. Among the most interested: Sam Bankman-Fried and Roger Ver, both active in clemency efforts since inauguration. Their expectations are shaped by a string of crypto industry pardons Trump has already granted in his second term.
Who Has Been Pardoned So Far
On day one of his second term (January 2025), Trump pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, commuting a life sentence. Next came BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, each convicted of Bank Secrecy Act violations. In October 2025, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) received a pardon after four months in prison, framed by the White House as ending the Biden administration’s war on crypto.
SBF Stands Apart
Bankman-Fried, serving a 25-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy tied to the FTX collapse, faces a different reality. The White House has stated it has no plans to pardon him. Notably, SBF was one of Joe Biden’s largest campaign donors in 2020, contributing $5.2 million to defeat Trump.
Whether any crypto defendants beyond those already pardoned make the final list of 250 remains unclear. The White House has not confirmed the plan publicly, and no names under active consideration have been disclosed.