President Trump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao

Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has been pardoned by US President Donald Trump.

Zhao, also known as “CZ”, was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws.

Binance also pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay $4.3bn (£3.4bn) after a US investigation found it helped users circumvent sanctions.

The pardon renewed debate over the White House’s embrace of the cryptocurrency industry as the Trump family’s own investments in the industry deepened.

White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt called the Biden administration’s prosecution of Zhao part of a “war on cryptocurrency,” dismissing critics who said the decision appeared motivated by Trump’s personal financial interests.

“This was too much of a case by the Biden administration,” she said, adding that the case had been “thoroughly reviewed.” “So the president wants to correct that, the overreaching injustice of the Biden administration, and he’s exercised his constitutional authority to do that.”

Binance spent almost a year seeking a pardon for its former boss, who served his four-month sentence in September 2024. The WSJ reported Thursday.

His campaign came as Trump launched his own coin shortly before his inauguration in Januarypledged to take a friendlier approach to the industry than its predecessor.

Since then, he has loosened regulations, tried to create a national cryptocurrency reserve, and pressed to make it easier for Americans to use retirement savings to invest in digital assets.

Zhao, who steps down as Binance CEO in 2023, wrote on social media on Thursday that he was “deeply grateful for today’s pardon and for President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to honesty, innovation and justice.”

The pardon removes restrictions that had stopped Zhao from running financial ventures, but it’s not yet clear whether it changes his standing with US regulators or his ability to run Binance directly.

In a statement, Binance called the decision “incredible news.”

The exchange, which is registered in the Cayman Islands, remains the world’s most popular platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

She did not respond to further questions about the conflict of interest allegations.

Before the pardon, Zhao’s companies had partnered with firms linked to Donald Trump on new digital currency projects, including Dominari Holdings, where his sons sit on the board of advisers and which is based in Trump Tower.

The Wall Street Journal also previously reported that representatives of the Trump family — which has its own crypto firm World Liberty Financial — recently held talks with Binance.

The Trump administration previously dropped a fraud case against crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun following his investments in the Trump family’s crypto firm, World Liberty Financial.

He also pardoned the founders of crypto exchange BitMex and Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road, the dark web marketplace known as a drug-dealing venue.

Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale wrote on social media that he loves Trump but was “terribly advised” about the pardons.

“It makes it look like there’s massive fraud going on around him in this area,” he said.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, criticized the decision in a statement as “a form of corruption.”

Asked about the decision to pardon Zhao on Thursday, Trump didn’t seem to know who he was.

“Are you talking about the crypto guy?” he asked, later saying he received the pardon at “the request of many good people.”

When US officials announced Binance’s guilty plea in 2023, they said Binance and Zhao were responsible for “willful violations” of US law that endangered the financial system and national security.

“Binance turned a blind eye to its legal obligations in pursuit of profit,” said then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

“His willful failures allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals and child abusers through his platform.”

Zhao stepped down as CEO of Binance as part of the resolution of the case, writing at the time that resigning was “the right thing to do.”

“I made mistakes and I have to take responsibility” he said.

Report contributed by Bernd Debusman Jr