WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump has officially pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, who pleaded guilty to money laundering violations in 2023. The White House confirmed the move on Thursday, sparking fresh debate about Trump’s growing ties to the cryptocurrency industry.
White House Defends Pardon
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “exercised his constitutional authority” to pardon Zhao, describing him as a victim of the Biden administration’s war on cryptocurrency.
She added that Zhao’s prosecution was “overly harsh” and that the administration now considers that “war over.”
Trump told reporters he made the decision “at the request of a lot of very good people,” claiming he believed Zhao had been “persecuted” rather than fairly prosecuted.
“I’ve been told by many people that what he did is not even a crime,” Trump said during a White House roundtable. “He had a lot of support. So, I gave him a pardon.”
Ties Between Binance and Trump’s Crypto Empire
Zhao’s pardon comes after months of lobbying by Binance, which has developed deep business links with Trump’s own crypto venture, World Liberty Financial.
The Trump family’s wealth is now significantly tied to that platform, which is hosted on Binance and reportedly earned the family hundreds of millions in token sales and fees.
According to The Wall Street Journal, World Liberty Financial has added more than $5 billion in paper wealth to the Trump family’s fortune — surpassing earnings from real estate.
Earlier this year, an Emirati investment firm agreed to use Trump’s dollar-backed stablecoin, USD1, for a $2 billion transaction with Binance — around the same time the company began lobbying for Zhao’s pardon.
Zhao’s Legal Background
Zhao, who founded Binance in 2017, stepped down as CEO after the company pleaded guilty to violating anti-money-laundering and sanctions laws.
He personally paid a $50 million fine and served four months in prison in 2024, while Binance agreed to over $4 billion in penalties.
Despite the scandal, Zhao remains one of the wealthiest figures in tech, with a net worth of $85.6 billion, according to Forbes.
On X (formerly Twitter), Zhao expressed gratitude for the pardon:
“Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.”
Crypto’s Political Comeback
The pardon marks another turning point in Trump’s transformation from crypto skeptic to industry champion.
Since returning to the White House, he has promised to make the U.S. the “Crypto Capital of the Planet.”
His administration has rolled back several Biden-era crypto regulations and issued pardons to other digital asset figures, including Ross Ulbricht of Silk Road and several BitMEX co-founders.
With Zhao’s freedom secured, Binance may soon reenter the U.S. market, potentially reshaping the global crypto landscape once again.
