President Donald Trump pardoned former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, marking a sea change in how presidential administrations approach crypto.
In a statement, Leavitt sharply criticized the former Biden administration.
“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,” Leavitt said in an emailed statement. “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,” Leavitt added.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the news of the pardon. Binance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Block.
Zhao, also known as CZ, previously denied a report from The Wall Street Journal, which stated the crypto billionaire had been pushing the Trump administration for a pardon. Then, less than two months later, he said on a podcast that he had formally submitted a pardon request, but that he did so after The Wall Street Journal story.
CZ to return to run Binance?
The pardon could potentially set the stage for CZ to once again take over running Binance.
Axios reported in September that Binance CEO Richard Teng said that although CZ is Binance’s largest shareholder, his plea agreement with the U.S. government included a lifetime ban from running the exchange.
Zhao was released from prison last year after being sentenced to four months’ incarceration. He pled guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an “effective anti-money laundering program.” He was also fined $50 million, while Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion as part of one of the largest corporate settlements on record.
Discussions within the White House concerning the possibility of Trump pardoning CZ were beginning to advance further, according to a report from earlier this month.
“Many Trump insiders believe the fraud case against Zhao was pretty weak, and certainly not something that merited a felony conviction and jail time,” Fox Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino posted to X.
© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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