Donald Trump Clears Binance Founder CZ of Money-Laundering Conviction
Pardon clears crypto kingpin's path to reclaim empire.
President Donald Trump has issued a full pardon to Changpeng Zhao—known globally as CZ—the billionaire founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The decision wipes out Zhao’s 2023 guilty plea for enabling money laundering and lifts all restrictions that previously barred him from leading financial businesses, setting the stage for a potential comeback.
Zhao’s fall came after a massive $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities over Binance’s failure to enforce anti-money-laundering rules and sanctions compliance. Prosecutors accused the platform of allowing illicit funds to flow to criminals, terrorists, and child abusers. Despite the severity of the charges, Zhao served just four months in prison and stepped down as CEO while retaining majority ownership and a fortune topping $85 billion.
The pardon follows months of high-level lobbying, including Binance’s hiring of a close ally of Donald Trump Jr. to push for executive relief. CZ had publicly supported Trump’s vision to make America the “crypto capital of the world,” and Binance partnered with the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial crypto venture. Trump downplayed conflict-of-interest concerns, saying many prominent figures urged the pardon.
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CZ celebrated the news on X: “Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding fairness, innovation, and justice. We will do everything to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance Web3 worldwide.” Binance echoed the sentiment, calling it “incredible news” and praising CZ’s role in shaping the global crypto movement.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the move as correcting Biden-era overreach, stating the case lacked evidence of fraud or direct victims. This is the latest in a string of crypto pardons, including Ross Ulbricht of Silk Road and BitMEX founders, signaling Trump’s intent to ease regulatory pressure on the industry.
Critics, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, condemned the pardon as corruption, pointing to CZ’s support for Trump family crypto projects. As Zhao regains full operational freedom, the crypto world braces for his next move—while Washington debates the future of digital asset regulation.
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