President Donald Trump has officially pardoned Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the billionaire founder of Binance, who had pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge in 2023, the White House confirmed on Thursday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Trump exercised his constitutional authority to issue the pardon, arguing Zhao was unjustly prosecuted during what she described as the Biden administration’s “war on cryptocurrency.”
“President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency,” Leavitt said.
The decision, which could pave the way for Binance — the world’s largest crypto exchange — to resume broader operations in the United States, has already sparked debate over potential conflicts of interest due to the Trump family’s financial ties to Binance.
Trump Defends the Pardon
Speaking at a White House roundtable, Trump defended his decision, telling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that Zhao’s prosecution was politically motivated and that he had been urged to act by “a lot of very good people.”
“I’ve been told that what he did is not even a crime,” Trump said. “He was persecuted by the Biden administration, and so I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of very good people.”
The pardon was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and later confirmed by White House officials.
A Shift in Trump’s Crypto Stance
Trump’s move marks another step in his dramatic reversal on cryptocurrency. Once a vocal skeptic who criticized Bitcoin and other digital assets, Trump has since embraced the crypto sector — pledging to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet.”
Over the past year, Trump and his family have launched World Liberty Financial, a sprawling crypto venture hosted on Binance’s platform. The company’s proprietary tokens have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in fees, making cryptocurrency a cornerstone of the Trump family’s post-White House financial empire.
According to The Wall Street Journal, World Liberty Financial has contributed more than $5 billion in paper wealth to the Trump family fortune — surpassing even the value of the family’s traditional real estate holdings.
Financial and Political Implications
The pardon has raised ethical concerns among political observers, given the close financial relationship between the Trump family’s crypto firm and Binance.
The Emirati-backed investment firm MGX recently agreed to use World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin, USD1, in a $2 billion deal with Binance, effectively acting as a major deposit for Trump’s company. The deal came as Binance was actively lobbying the White House for Zhao’s pardon.
When asked whether his family’s crypto ties influenced the decision, Trump dismissed the suggestion.
“I pardon a lot of people,” Trump said. “That’s what presidents do.”
Leavitt later defended the decision during the White House press briefing, stating that Zhao’s case was “overly prosecuted” and that the review process for all pardons was “thorough and lawful.”
Zhao’s Legal History
Changpeng Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison in May 2024 after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti–money laundering program at Binance.
As part of a 2023 settlement with U.S. authorities, Binance agreed to pay over $4 billion in fines and penalties for violating federal sanctions and money-transmitting laws. Zhao personally paid $200 million and stepped down as CEO.
Despite his conviction, Zhao remained one of the most influential figures in the global cryptocurrency market, widely credited for making Binance a dominant player since founding it in 2017.
A Broader Pattern of Crypto Clemency
Zhao’s pardon is the latest in a series of high-profile clemencies issued by Trump toward figures in the cryptocurrency industry since his return to office.
Earlier this year, Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the imprisoned founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace — a folk hero among Libertarian crypto advocates — as well as three BitMEX co-founders convicted of anti–money laundering violations.
The SEC also dropped civil fraud charges against Justin Sun, the Chinese crypto billionaire who invested heavily in Trump’s World Liberty Financial project.
Criticism and Reaction
Democratic lawmakers have condemned the Zhao pardon as a case of political favoritism and potential corruption.
“Trump is using presidential powers to protect business partners and benefactors,” said one senior Democratic aide. “It’s an abuse of office that undermines public trust.”
Crypto markets, however, reacted positively — with Binance’s native token (BNB) jumping more than 12% in early trading Thursday, reflecting optimism that the exchange might soon re-enter the U.S. market under friendlier regulatory conditions.
Conclusion
The pardon of Changpeng Zhao underscores the Trump administration’s pro-crypto pivot and the increasingly blurred line between financial interests and political power.
As Trump seeks to make the U.S. a global hub for digital finance, critics argue his deep financial entanglements with the very industry he now champions raise serious ethical and governance questions that are unlikely to fade anytime soon.
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