Trump Pardons Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao

President Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”), the billionaire founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, who was convicted of a felony for compliance violations linked to money laundering.

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The decision grants clemency to Zhao, who served a four-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act for failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering (AML) program. Prosecutors had accused Binance of facilitating nearly $900 million in illegal crypto trades, some involving sanctioned groups like Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades, al-Qaida, and Iran.

“Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice,” Zhao wrote following the announcement.

White House Defends the Move

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the pardon, stating that the Trump administration sought to correct an “egregious oversentencing” and end what she called the previous administration’s “very hostile stance toward the crypto industry.”

The pardon is the latest action in the Trump administration’s pro-crypto shift:

• It continues a pattern of using presidential clemency for political allies and public figures.
• The administration has dropped several crypto-related enforcement actions started under the Biden administration and dissolved a Justice Department unit focused on crypto crimes.
• Zhao and Binance have been key supporters of the Trump family’s own crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, which launched a dollar-backed stablecoin. The value of another Trump-linked token surged sharply after the pardon news.

Zhao’s Backstory

Zhao’s journey from a humble background to a crypto titan is well-known. Born in rural China, he immigrated to Canada after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown and later worked at McDonald’s before turning to tech. He launched Binance in 2017, quickly building it into a global powerhouse in digital finance. Upon his sentencing, he told the court, “I failed here. I deeply regret my failure, and I am sorry.”