SBF Officially Seeks Trump Pardon After 25-Year Sentence

Sam Bankman-Fried has formally applied for a presidential pardon through the Office of the Pardon Attorney, seeking relief after his FTX fraud conviction. The former exchange chief is serving a 25-year sentence after a 2024 jury found him guilty of fraud, conspiracy and related charges.

The filing arrives after Bankman-Fried told Fox Business from prison that he would accept a pardon from President Donald Trump if offered. He said he had not personally contacted the White House, while leaving open whether parents or allies had made approaches on his behalf.

Bankman-Fried has kept arguing that he did not steal customer funds, pointing to repayments from FTX’s bankruptcy process as proof of recoveries. Analysts after sentencing expected him to serve at least 21.25 years, and pardon applications can take months or years before decisions emerge publicly.

The effort tests Trump’s crypto clemency record after pardons for Ross Ulbricht, Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Samuel Reed and Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao. Trump previously ruled out freeing Bankman-Fried, while Senator Cynthia Lummis called his Clarity Act support a transparent pardon bid.

Zcash Targets July Ironwood Fix After 50% Plunge

Zcash developers agreed on Ironwood consensus changes after an Orchard shielded-pool flaw raised fears of unlimited counterfeit ZEC. The upgrade would create a new Orchard-based pool while restricting new incoming payments to the old one. Zcash Open Development Lab is targeting a late July activation.

Sean Bowe said the design uses Zcash’s turnstile mechanism to keep circulating supply bounded and let users migrate away from Orchard. ZEC had dropped more than 50% after the flaw disclosure, then rebounded to $450.49. The episode sharpened attention on privacy coins.

Starknet Adds STRK20 Privacy for ERC20 Transfers

Starknet launched STRK20, a zero-knowledge privacy framework for shielded balances and private transfers across ERC20 assets on its network. Developers can use it for swaps, lending, staking, payments and donations without building separate privacy infrastructure. Viewing keys support targeted disclosure when legally required by authorities.

The first major use case is strkBTC, which brings private bitcoin balances and transfers to Starknet through the same framework. The team said STRK20 is not a mixer because shielding is embedded directly into asset flows. StarkWare’s Eli Ben-Sasson expects narrower compliance investigations over time.

Kraken Wins FIFA World Cup Crypto Sponsorship

Kraken became the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026, expanding its sports marketing push. The deal covers the seven-week tournament across Canada, Mexico and the United States, with financial terms undisclosed. FIFA expects more than 6 billion cumulative viewers worldwide across matches.

The partnership begins with a multi-city countdown concert and will include fan-focused product experiences in North America and Europe. Kraken already sponsors Tottenham Hotspur, Atlético de Madrid, RB Leipzig and Williams Racing. The campaign lands as law enforcement warns fans about crypto ticket scams globally.

Data of the Day

Humanity Protocol-linked wallets were drained for more than $32 million after 17 H token holders were targeted, according to onchain analyst Specter. Founder Terence Kwok said a Humanity Foundation member’s private keys were compromised. About $23.7 million was swapped into Ethereum as losses widened fast.

The attack pushed H down 89% as the exploiter later minted 100 million additional tokens and sold them for BNB. ZachXBT questioned the team’s explanation, saying the event could involve a market maker exit. Humanity says it is working with exchanges and security firms globally.

More Breaking News

• Strategy’s $101 million Bitcoin buy left BTC near $62,600, as traders waited on inflation data and kept derivatives hedges tilted toward downside protection across markets.
• The FCA proposed a 10% crypto ETN cap for retail funds, aligning fund access with individual trading while keeping speculative exposure limited under consultation.
• MetaMask launched Agent Wallet for AI bots, adding self-custody, spend limits, simulations and Blockaid scans across Ethereum apps and Hyperliquid before wider summer availability.
• Elizabeth Warren demanded CFTC records by June 18, questioning whether staffing cuts and industry ties weakened oversight of crypto and prediction markets under Trump.
• Aave proposed a new risk framework after KelpDAO’s $292 million exploit, adding bridge, chain and automation checks before asset listings survive across all markets.
• Morpho raised $175 million from Paradigm, a16z and Ribbit, backing its $11 billion lending platform as Coinbase explores programmable credit through DeFi rails.
• Strategy shareholders approved semi-monthly STRC dividends, aiming to stabilize the preferred stock that has helped fund rising bitcoin purchases in 2026 through capital markets.
• BitMine added 126,971 ETH worth about $214 million, with Tom Lee arguing Zcash’s scare strengthens the case for hardened Ethereum rails during crypto selloffs.
• OKX launched EU X-Perps on Magnificent 7 stocks, SPY, QQQ and commodities, giving retail traders 10x leverage under regulated frameworks and shared margin accounts.

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