U.S. President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, the White House confirmed to Decrypt on Thursday, marking the latest clemency for the digital asset industry from the crypto-friendly administration. Zhao, also known as “CZ,” resigned his position as Binance’s CEO in 2023 as part of a plea bargain that sent him to jail for four months in 2024 at a minimum security prison in Lompoc, California. The crypto mogul had pleaded guilty to violating U.S. laws against money laundering at the world’s largest cryptocy exchange. The Wall Street Journal first reported news of the pardon.
“President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocy,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Levitt told Decrypt. “In their desire to punish the cryptocy industry, the Biden Administration pursued Mr. Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims.”
“The Biden Administration sought to imprison Mr. Zhao for three years, a sentence so outside sentencing guidelines that even the Judge said he had never heard of this in his 30-year career,” she continued. “These actions by the Biden Administration severely damaged the United States’ reputation as a global leader in technology and innovation. The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over.”
Zhao founded Binance in July 2017 following an initial coin offering that raised about $15 million. It soon after became the world’s largest cryptocy exchange by trading volume and still holds that position. But despite the brand’s huge client base, Binance failed to comply with regulations, U.S. law enforcement said, allowing funds linked to virtual theft and terrorism to flow through its exchange undetected.
Americans were also able to use the exchange—which allows people to buy, sell, and bet on the future price of major digital coins and tokens—when they weren’t supposed to. Former CEO Zhao in 2023 was forced to step down from Binance as part of a $4.3 billion settlement between him, the exchange, and U.S. law officials. Under Democratic President Joe Biden, regulators were tough on crypto companies, handing out fines and filing lawsuits against companies for violating securities laws. But since President Trump returned to power in January, regulators have changed their tune towards the crypto space.
President Trump campaigned on a ticket to help the industry and received billions of dollars in funding from Silicon Valley bigwigs. Since the Republican became president in January, the Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped a number of high-profile lawsuits filed during the Biden Administration against top crypto companies.
President Trump has also pardoned other crypto moguls—such as BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes. Zhao confirmed in May that he was going through the official process of seeking a pardon, but denied speculation that he was offering equity in Binance.US to facilitate such a move. President Trump also has a long list of personal crypto ventures; his family has reportedly made $1 billion in profits from a number of digital asset businesses.
Zhao’s exchange also has links to the President Trump-backed World Liberty Financial project: The project’s USD1 stablecoin is available on a blockchain originally created by Binance, BNB Chain, and a $2 billion investment into Binance from Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund MGX was paid using the token. Trump’s political opponents have taken aim at the pardon since it was confirmed early Thursday.
“First, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge. Then he boosted one of Donald Trump’s crypto ventures and lobbied for a pardon. Today, Donald Trump did his part and pardoned him,” Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a statement shared with Decrypt. “If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption in pending market structure legislation, it owns this lawlessness.”
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