Ross Ulbricht became a cause celebre among libertarians, but SBF was always genuinely despised by pretty much everyone.
His Anthropic investment alone would give him credibility. If it hadn't been liquidated for pennies FTX would have been one of the best performing funds of all time, even with the theft and mismanagement.
Ponzi schemes often have that feature. Right up until the bottom completely falls out.
IF he was pardoned, THEN he could easily raise money, because his old fund made EXTREMELY GOOD investment decisions. That's not a moral statement, that's a factual claim. "He should get out of jail because he is a good investor" is a strawman argument I did not make.
And was a campaign promise Trump issued in order to secure votes from that base.