US President Donald Trump on Thursday issued a pardon order for Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.
“President Trump has exercised his constitutional powers by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was impeached by the Biden administration in their war on cryptocurrencies,” the White House said in a statement.
“The war on cryptocurrencies is over.”the statement added.
Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in late 2023 to one charge: failure to comply with the requirements of implementing an anti-money laundering program, and stepped down as CEO of Binance. The company paid $4.3 billion to settle related charges, and Zhao himself was sentenced to four months in prison.
Zhao, known by his initials CZ, is one of the richest people in the world and among the most recognizable names in the crypto sector. He built Binance as the world’s largest crypto exchange, but the company was banned from operating in the US after his guilty plea in 2023.
Trump’s pardon represents a huge victory for Zhao and Binance after months of speculation and lobbying. It’s also another sign of the Trump administration’s policy shift toward easing oversight of the crypto industry — at a time when Trump himself and his family are building their own multibillion-dollar crypto empire.
Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reported that representatives of the Trump family’s crypto company were in talks with Binance about acquiring a stake in the US arm of the exchange. However, Zhao rejected claims that he was seeking a deal in exchange for a pardon.
“Fact: I have not had any discussions about a Binance deal with… anyone,” Zhao wrote in an X post in March. “No one convicted would refuse a pardon,” he added.
However, Binance played an important role in the growth of the Trump family’s crypto initiative: World Liberty Financial. When Binance accepted a $2 billion transaction from an investment fund from the United Arab Emirates earlier this year, it agreed to transfer the funds to a cryptocurrency developed by World Liberty Financial.
A move that legitimized the Trump family’s digital currency and proved extremely lucrative for the company.
“Thanks to MGX and Binance for the trust,” Zach Witkoff, founder of the Trump family’s crypto company, said in May at a conference in Dubai where the deal was announced.
A group of Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren, the ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, issued a statement after the deal in May, expressing concern that Binance and the Trump administration may be trying to strike a deal that would enrich the president.
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