United States President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder and chief executive officer, Changpeng Zhao, who is accused of money laundering while he was the head of cryptocurrency exchange, The White House announced on Thursday, October 23.
Changpeng Zhao was convicted by the previous Biden administration. In November 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty in a Seattle federal court and agreed to step down as Binance CEO. A settlement deal of USD 4.3 billion was made by his company with the Department of Justice.
“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,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
“In their desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden administration pursued Mr Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims,” Leavitt said.
The pardon came two months after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump family’s crypto venture, valued at around USD 4.5 billion since the 2024 election, had benefited from “a partnership with a little-known trading platform quietly run by Binance.”
Commonly known as CZ, Zhao founded Binance in 2017 and quickly grew one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. After he pleaded guilty over money laundering sanctions and violations, he was sentenced to four months of prison time.
He remains one of the wealthiest figures in the cryptocurrency industry, with an estimated net worth in the billions.
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