Trump pardons convicted Binance founder Zhao Changpeng
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, the White House announced on Thursday (Oct 23), marking the latest in a series of clemency moves for high-profile business figures.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had “exercised his constitutional authority” to pardon Zhao, calling his prosecution under the previous administration “part of a politically motivated war on cryptocurrency.”
Zhao, who served four months in prison last year after pleading guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws, expressed gratitude on social media. “Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice,” he wrote on X. “We’ll do everything we can to help make America the capital of crypto.”
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, declined to comment.
A SYMBOLIC MOVE FOR THE CRYPTO SECTOR
Zhao, a Canadian citizen born in China, resigned as Binance’s chief executive in 2023 after the company pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme and agreed to pay a US$4.3 billion penalty. He personally paid a US$50 million fine but retained his stake in the company.
The pardon could clear the way for Zhao’s return to Binance, which has struggled to expand in the United States amid stricter financial scrutiny.
It also underscores Trump’s efforts to position himself as an ally of the crypto industry, reversing many of Joe Biden’s enforcement-driven policies. The move follows Trump’s earlier pardons for the founders of BitMEX, Nikola, and Ozy Media, as well as his commutation of the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road.
Zhao’s pardon, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is seen as a signal to cryptocurrency advocates that the Trump administration aims to promote innovation and reduce regulation in the digital finance sector.
