Crypto mogul Elon Musk claimed that President Joe Biden has promised a pardon to the disgraced founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). Musk was stunned by the breadth of the entrepreneur’s political donations.
Musk’s statement on X (formerly Twitter) rekindled questions about Bankman-Fried’s connections to the political world and whether they factored into whether or not justice was served for the unravelled crypto broker.
I will be shocked if this doesn’t happen
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 23, 2024
Musk said he’d be shocked if this didn’t happen, saying when someone posted about SBF being the second wealthiest person to donate to the Democratic Party in 2020.
He then added to speculation over whether Bankman Fried’s political connections and his $5.2 million contribution to Biden’s presidential campaign, among other things, could help secure clemency.
It is unlikely that betting markets on Polymarket would have offered greater than 5 percent to 10 percent odds on a presidential pardon, given little faith it could make it through even with his words.
Polymarket Bets Spark Debate Over SBF Pardon Odds
It’s because of a Polymarket bet from April of this year, in which people bet whether or not Bankman Fried would be pardoned, commuted, or granted clemency by Biden. Musk’s remarks have been repeated, as no public opinion tends to believe the convicted fraudster would grant such a pardon.
Of all the fallings from grace in financial history, the whole thing is one of the biggest. Aasterkalsen’s rise and fall have been written in a thundilably style across the cryptocurrency space.
As he was most influential, bank man-fried was a big fish in the crypto and the political fishbowl. FTX, founded in 2019, rapidly became one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges. He was a social responsibility and an innovation entrepreneur, according to SBF. Most often, Democrats, he became a major donor and lobbyist, helping fund political candidates.
Records show that SBF spent 92 percent of his political contributions on Democrats, but just how much political leverage did he have? Bankman-Fried’s political ties have been under the spotlight as the blockbuster implosion of FTX left its customer accounts short by $8 billion in late 2022. Republican figures have demanded more transparency on where his donations were spent and whether he should have to repay them.
However, presidential pardons have frequently been controversial, especially those given to those with strong ties to political elites. Polymarket offers low odds on the prediction ‘the crimes trump the politics’, adding a new wrinkle to the conversation.
The convicted bank man-fried was charged with allegedly siphoning customer funds to cover Alameda Research, which he founded, potentially the biggest financial fraud of all time. His downfall wrecked his legacy and left him pondering just how close the Democratic Party was to the former crypto magnate.
Bankman-Fried awaits a pardon and a 25-year sentence. Musk’s comments about the influence of political connections draw attention to a complicated irony: The Biden administration has yet to take publicly on this.
Whether the 2024 election is looming and Trump is still technically eligible for a vote in 2025 will spark the flashpoint in a debate about justice and privilege in the pardon of SBF remains to be seen.
Polymarket’s 5% odds track the uncertainty of mere mortals and political analysts alike. Is Musk’s prediction a speculative outlier or a foretold future?
This news is republished from another source. You can check the original article here
