Key Insights
- U.S. President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao after his conviction for AML compliance failures, ending a major crypto enforcement case.
- The White House framed the move as ending the Biden-era “war on crypto”; Democrats denounced it.
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng “CZ’’ Zhao, the convicted founder of Binance, after months of lobbying by the exchange and its former chief executive, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Trump signed the pardon on Wednesday, the people said, though no entry yet appears on the Federal Register or White House website, where clemency actions are normally posted. Binance later confirmed the pardon and called it “incredible news.”
Zhao pleaded guilty in November 2023 to failing to implement an adequate Anti-Money Laundering program at Binance in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act. He agreed to step down as CEO and in April 2024 was sentenced to four months in prison. He was released in September last year.
Binance told MarketsXplora:
We thank President Trump for his leadership and for his commitment to make the US the crypto capital of the world. CZ’s vision not only made Binance the world’s largest crypto exchange but shaped the broader crypto movement
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump acted to end what she called a politically motivated crackdown.
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,” she said. “In their desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden Administration pursued Mr. Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims. The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over.
Zhao posted on X, thanking Trump and pledging support for U.S. ambitions in the sector:
Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance web3 worldwide.
Zhao had previously denied WSJ reporting that he was pressing the Trump team for a pardon, then later disclosed on a podcast that he had formally submitted a request — after the original story ran.
Binance CEO Richard Teng said Zhao’s clemency “represents how far the crypto industry has come,” adding the firm is “building the next chapter — focused on increasing access by reducing fees, trust, and global innovation.”
Will Zhao return to his executive role?
The pardon could clear a path for Zhao to return to an executive role despite a lifetime bar from running the exchange embedded in his plea agreement. Teng had said in September that Zhao’s equity stake remained large, but his legal record blocked a comeback.
The November 2023 plea deal forced Zhao to resign, pay a $50 million fine, and accept compliance controls, while Binance paid $4.3 billion in what remains one of the biggest corporate settlements on record.
Trump’s move follows weeks of signals that deliberations were advancing. Fox Business correspondent Charles Gasparino reported this month that “many Trump insiders believe the fraud case against Zhao was pretty weak, and certainly not something that merited a felony conviction and jail time.”
The Wall Street Journal earlier detailed Trump-world ties to Binance, reporting that Trump-backed DeFi project World Liberty Financial had been in talks to buy a stake in Binance.US. World Liberty rejected the report as “politically motivated.” Within six weeks, Abu Dhabi-based MGX said it would use World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin to close a $2 billion deal with Binance.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren condemned the pardon and alleged that Zhao had helped Trump in his crypto ventures while Congress drafts new market-structure legislation. “If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption in pending market structure legislation, it owns this lawlessness,” she said.
Pressed on Democratic criticism, Leavitt replied that clemency requests undergo a “thorough examination” by White House counsel.
Trump Defends Pardon for Binance Founder Zhao
Trump defended the pardon on Thursday, telling reporters Zhao was “persecuted” by the prior administration. “Are you talking about the crypto person? A lot of people say he wasn’t guilty of anything,” Trump said, adding he did not know Zhao personally but pardoned him at “the request of a lot of very good people.”
The pardon places Zhao among a growing list of crypto figures granted clemency by Trump, including BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes and others, and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who had been serving two life terms plus 40 years.