- The Trump administration pardoned the former CEO of Binance.
- Changpeng Zhao spent four months in prison in 2024.
- The company has deep ties to Binance.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of the industry’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, according to White House officials.
Zhao, who goes by “CZ,” served a four-month prison sentence in 2024.
Under Zhao, Binance failed to prevent criminals, sanctioned entities, and other bad actors from laundering billions of dollars in dirty money, according to court filings.
The Department of Justice fined the company $4.3 billion and ordered a three-year, third-party monitor to oversee the company’s operations.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told DL News that President Donald Trump “exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency.”
Now, with Zhao’s pardon, that war is “over,” Leavitt said.
The Wall Street Journal first reported news of Zhao’s pardon on Thursday and indicated that the pardon paves the way for Binance to return to the United States.
“Incredible news of CZ’s pardon today. We thank President Trump for his leadership and for his commitment to make the US the crypto capital of the world,” Binance spokesperson Jessica Jung told DL News in a statement.
“CZ’s vision not only made Binance the world’s largest crypto exchange but shaped the broader crypto movement. Binance remains focused on building a secure, transparent, and user-first platform that reduces fees and increases access to the financial system for all.”
‘No felon would mind a pardon’
CZ has repeatedly denied media reports that he was attempting to secure a pardon from Trump.
In March, the Journal reported Trump’s family was in talks to acquire a stake in Binance.
At the same time, the company was pushing for a presidential pardon, though it was “unclear” whether the Trumps’ possible financial stake in Binance would be contingent upon such a pardon, according to the report.
“I have had no discussions of a Binance US deal with … well, anyone,” the billionaire wrote on X after the report was published.
“No felon would mind a pardon, especially being the only one in US history who was ever sentenced to prison for a single [Bank Secrecy Act] charge,” he added.
In July, CZ threatened to sue Bloomberg after the outlet reported Binance had written the code for USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial. The company has deep ties to the Trump family.
The story also claimed that Zhao had applied for a presidential pardon not long after USD1 was used in a $2 billion investment deal involving a UAE fund’s stake in Binance.
Update, October 23: This story was updated to include comment from Binance.
Liam J. Kelly and Aleks Gilbert are DeFi correspondents for DL News. Have a tip? Email them at liam@dlnews.com and aleks@dlnews.com.
