WASHINGTON (BN24) — President Donald Trump granted a full pardon Thursday to Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, marking a decisive end to what his administration described as the “war on crypto.”
In a statement, the White House said, “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. The war on crypto is over.”
Zhao, widely known by his initials CZ, pleaded guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering program at Binance. The company agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines as part of the settlement with U.S. authorities, and Zhao resigned as CEO. He was sentenced to four months in prison.
The pardon represents a sweeping victory for Zhao and Binance, following months of speculation and intense lobbying from industry figures. It also signals a major policy shift under President Trump, who has pushed to loosen regulations on digital currencies as his family builds its own multibillion-dollar crypto venture, World Liberty Financial.
Binance welcomed the announcement, calling it “incredible news.” A company spokesperson said, “We thank President Trump for his leadership and for his commitment to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world.”
Speaking to reporters Thursday afternoon, President Trump defended the decision and dismissed Zhao’s legal troubles as politically motivated. “Are you talking about the crypto person? A lot of people say that he wasn’t guilty of anything,” Trump said. “They say what he did was not even a crime. It wasn’t a crime. He was persecuted by the Biden administration, and so I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of very good people.”
Reports earlier this year suggested that representatives of the Trump family’s crypto enterprise had held discussions with Binance about investing in its U.S. arm, though Zhao publicly denied any connection between the talks and his pardon. “Fact: I have had no discussions of a Binance US deal with … well, anyone,” Zhao wrote on X in March. “No felon would mind a pardon.”
Binance has nonetheless been linked to the growth of World Liberty Financial, which recently launched its own digital currency. In one major transaction this year, Binance accepted a $2 billion payment from an Emirati investment fund, opting to process the funds using World Liberty Financial’s cryptocurrency—a deal that proved both lucrative and legitimizing for the Trump-backed venture.
The pardon underscores Trump’s deepening ties to the cryptocurrency world and cements his administration’s pivot toward making the United States a global hub for digital assets.
