The FTX fraudster just pulled the fastest political 180 in crypto history, going full MAGA in an attempt to save his own skin. 

SBF has gone from being a Democratic megadonor to being a Trump fanboy in a matter of months, and he's not being subtle about it.

His presidential pardon campaign is in full swing – complete with Tucker Carlson interviews and Trump-friendly lawyers on retainer.

The Crime Recap

FTX went nuclear in November 2022 when everyone realized SBF had been treating customer funds like his personal piggy bank.

He'd been shipping billions over to Alameda Research while telling everyone their money was safe – classic fraud with a crypto twist.

The collapse triggered a market-wide panic, and countless everyday crypto holders found themselves holding worthless FTT tokens instead of their actual assets.

Now he's serving 25 years behind bars, though apparently, his prison cell has plenty of time for political strategizing.

Family Connections

SBF's Stanford professor parents are working overtime trying to get junior out of the slammer.

They're meeting with Trump-connected lawyers, DC insiders, and anyone else who might have the president's ear.

Papa Bankman even wrote a glowing op-ed about Trump's economic policies – talk about transparent motives.

This is the same family that was perfectly comfortable with Sam's massive Dem donations until he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Is Anything Real With These Folks?

DC crypto lobbyists are giving SBF's pardon chances "near zero" odds – and that's being generous.

The dude literally stole billions from retail investors, crashed the market, and became the poster child for everything that's wrong with centralized exchanges.

Even in the world of presidential pardons, there are lines that are hard to cross.

Freeing the guy who pulled off one of the biggest financial frauds in recent history might be political suicide, even for someone who thrives on controversy.

Trump's Calculation

Trump has already shown his crypto-friendly credentials by pardoning Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.

But there's a massive difference between freeing a libertarian hero and the guy who made "not your keys, not your coins" a painful reality for millions.

The political upside just isn't there – SBF has managed to become toxic to both sides of the aisle.

And somewhere, Do Kwon is taking notes for his own eventual pardon strategy, not that he has much more love from the political class nor the Web3 crowd. 

The Pardon That Wasn’t

From penthouse to prison to pardon plea – SBF's fall from grace keeps finding new bottoms.

His family's sudden MAGA conversion is painfully inauthentic, and while stranger things have happened in crypto, this Hail Mary pass has a rightfully negligible change of actually materializing. 

Let's just hope that Trump remembers that the crypto community has a long memory when it comes to those who've done it harm – maybe listen to Barron on this one, Mr. President.