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SBF Pardon Plea Tour Continues With Tucker Carlson Podcast Appearance

Between his recent social posts referring to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an interview with The New York Sun and his conversation with conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried seems to be attempting a media rehabilitation tour.
Bankman-Fried suggested to Carlson on Thursday that one of the reasons he’d been given a harsh prison sentence was because he was getting closer to the Republican Party in the lead-up to his arrest.
“One fact that might be relevant. In 2020 I was center-left and I gave to Biden’s campaign,» he said. «I was optimistic he’d be a sort of solid center-left President. I spent the next few years in [Washington] DC a lot. I made dozens of trips there, and was really, really shocked by what I saw, not in a good direction, from the administration.»
“By late 2022 I was giving to Republicans privately as much as Democrats. And that started becoming known right around FTX’s collapse, so that probably played a role,” Bankman-Fried added.
Bankman-Fried was found guilty of multiple charges of fraud and conspiracy in March 2024 and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He made over $40 million in political donations to 196 members of Congress, including former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and former Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). In other words, 1 in 3 lawmakers took money from him.
Read more: Congress’ FTX Problem: 1 in 3 Members Got Cash From Crypto Exchange’s Bosses
During Bankman-Fried’s lengthy trial, it was revealed that he’d mulled a number of potential ways to rehab his public image following the collapse of FTX. An undated Google Doc listed ideas such as «come out against the woke agenda» and «Go on Tucker Carlsen, come out as a republican.» With the GOP now firmly in power in D.C., the latter idea has now seemingly come to fruition.
Bankman-Fried told Carlson that he’d never expected a whole lot from the Democrats but that he believed some lawmakers would prove thoughtful in both political parties. He criticized former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, calling the agency “something out of a nightmare” during his tenure due to difficulties for crypto companies to come in and register.
Asked by Carlson whether he’d called in any favors from political figures during his trial, Bankman-Fried denied it. However, the 33-year-old’s parents, former Stanford Law School professors Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman, have reportedly been meeting with lawyers and other people in U.S. President Donald Trump’s orbit in an attempt to secure their son a presidential pardon.
“There’s a long story there. It involves a law firm that took a pretty unusual and active role in the case, before I even gave up control of FTX, before it was ever filed for bankruptcy, the DOJ had already made up its mind.”
The Google Doc unveiled during Bankman-Fried’s trial also suggested he was planning to «talk about how the cartel of lawyers is destroying value and throwing entrepreneurs under the bus in order to cover up the incompetence of lawyers.”
Bankman-Fried recently posted a series of messages on social media about the difficulties of firing employees, in reference to the firings enacted by DOGE. Bankman-Fried was criticized by the crypto community for the posts, which were perceived as an attempt to ingratiate himself with the Trump administration.
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Bitcoin Holds Above $105K Despite Donald Trump’s Threats Against Elon Musk

Bitcoin BTC held firm above $105,000 on Saturday despite an unusually combative and personal escalation in the Trump-Musk feud that could rattle traditional markets next week.
On Saturday, in a phone interview with NBC News, President Trump warned that there would be “serious consequences” if Elon Musk financially backed Democratic candidates running against Republicans who support the GOP’s budget bill. “If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump said, adding later, “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that.”
Trump, who has often boasted of past support from Musk, firmly dismissed the idea of mending ties. “No,” he said when asked whether he wished to repair the relationship. “I would assume so, yeah,” he added when asked if the rift was permanent.
Despite the intensifying feud between two of the most influential figures in U.S. politics and technology, Bitcoin remained unfazed. The cryptocurrency held onto earlier gains and continues to trade near weekly highs. The market’s composure suggests that traders may increasingly view BTC as a hedge against institutional dysfunction, or at least as an asset insulated from the partisan fallout that tends to impact equities more directly.
Technical Analysis Highlights
- BTC traded in a 24-hour range of $1,162 (1.13%), from a low of $104,624 to a high of $105,786, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.
- Strong support formed at $104,800, where above-average volume confirmed buyer interest.
- Resistance at $105,200 was broken and has since flipped into a short-term support zone.
- Volume peaked at 378 BTC during key breakout moments, especially around 13:43–13:46 and 13:53.
- A short consolidation occurred between $104,300–$104,600 before the final surge to near highs.
- An ascending price channel remains intact, showing bullish structure despite intermittent pullbacks.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
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Ether Holds Steady Above $2,500 as ETF Demand Signals Institutional Confidence

Ether ETH has rebounded firmly from key support near $2,460, recovering losses and stabilizing above the $2,500 threshold amid broader market volatility.
The rally follows a higher low formation backed by above-average volume, signaling growing market confidence.
Institutional participation appears to be reinforcing the trend, with BlackRock’s ETHA ETF reporting $492 million in net inflows last week.
Total holdings now exceed $4.84 billion, reinforcing long-term bullish sentiment even as price action remains sensitive to geopolitical developments.
Traders are watching to see if ETH can challenge resistance in the $2,520–$2,530 range.
Technical Analysis Highlights
- ETH traded within a $72 range over 24 hours, from a low of $2,460.35 to a high of $2,532.41.
- A key support zone formed at $2,460–$2,470, where ETH bounced on strong volume during midnight hours.
- Final hour surge reached $2,515.11, backed by 5,919 ETH in volume.
- Higher low structure established with interim support at $2,485 and resistance at $2,503.
- Final retracement held support at $2,507, with price consolidating around $2,510 into the close.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
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Coinbase, BiT Global End Legal Fight Over WBTC Delisting

Coinbase and BiT Global have reached a legal settlement that ended their dispute over the delisting of BiT Global’s wrapped bitcoin (wBTC) token on Coinbase.
According to a joint court filing, BiT Global has agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against the crypto exchange with prejudice, meaning the case cannot be brought again in the future. The filing notes that both companies will cover their own legal expenses.
BiT Global had filed the lawsuit last year in the Northern District of California after Coinbase delisted the token over what it said was “unacceptable risk” that the tokenized BTC would “fall into the hands of Justin Sun.”
Sun became affiliated with wBTC in August last year through a partnership, prompting Coinbase to question BiT Global about his role. Sun, a Chinese-born crypto billionaire, has nevertheless been supporting the token, with World Liberty Financial dropping its cbBTC for wBTC after he joined as an advisor.
The suit alleged the exchange’s decision was unjustified and harmed the token’s liquidity and reputation while favoring Coinbase’s competing asset cbBTC. Coinbase launched cbBTC just two months before announcing it was delisting wBTC.
The dismissal does not disclose any settlement terms beyond the cost arrangement.
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