Bitcoin Jesus Faces Failed $30M Pardon Bid Linked to Trump’s Circle

- A $30 million pardon bid for Bitcoin investor Roger Ver collapses. - Scheme involving Matt Argall and Brock Pierce fails despite alleged ties to Trump’s circle. On August 18, 2025, Bloomberg revealed a failed $30 million plot to secure a presidential pardon for Roger Ver, known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” during Donald Trump’s second term. The effort was spearheaded by supplement salesman Matt Argall and cryptocurrency entrepreneur Brock Pierce, who sought to use supposed connections to Trump’s circle to portray Ver as a victim of unjust prosecution. Authorities in Spain indicted and arrested Ver in April 2024, and he now faces charges of mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns. The U.S. Department of Justice claims he did not declare capital gains from Bitcoin sales totaling over $240 million in 2017, resulting in an estimated $48 million loss to the IRS. The scheme proposed a payment of $10 million upfront and an additional $20 million contingent upon securing the pardon. According to documents reviewed by Bloomberg, Argall and Pierce suggested they had insider support, claiming it came from people close to Trump’s inner circle, including Trump campaign advisor Robert Wasinger. The White House denied any knowledge of the scheme, with a spokesperson for the Trump administration reaffirming the integrity of the pardon system and warning about deceptive lobbying efforts by “outside grifters.” Ver’s attorney dismissed the proposal as an illegitimate scam, emphasizing that no money exchanged hands. Meanwhile, Ver is actively contesting his extradition from Spain to the United States and filing legal motions to have the charges dropped. As of August 18, at 19:08 UTC, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $116,588.52, down 0.97% in 24-hour trading volume, according to CoinMarketCap.