In a move reigniting sharp political debate, U.S. President Donald Trump has granted a full pardon to Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the billionaire co-founder of Binance. The White House confirmed the decision Thursday, describing it as a correction to what it called the Biden administration’s “unnecessary war on digital assets.”
Zhao, who launched Binance in 2017 and built it into the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating U.S. anti-money-laundering laws. He served a four-month sentence in 2024. The pardon wipes his criminal record clean and could pave the way for Binance’s return to the U.S. market.
“In their desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden administration pursued Mr. Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims,” the White House said. The statement added that the prosecution had “damaged the United States’ reputation as a global leader in technology and innovation.”
Democrats, however, condemned the decision. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a long-time crypto critic, accused Zhao of using financial ties to the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, to secure clemency.
“CZ pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge and was sentenced to prison. But then he financed President Trump’s stablecoin and lobbied for a pardon. Today, he got it,” Warren posted on X. “If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption, it owns it.”
Zhao, who resigned as Binance CEO in 2023, remains the company’s majority shareholder. Reports from the Wall Street Journal revealed that Binance had lobbied for nearly a year to obtain his pardon.
The Trump pardons CZ Zhao decision also highlights Trump’s evolving relationship with the crypto sector. Once a skeptic, he now embraces digital assets and has eased regulations, attracting more than $100 million in campaign contributions from crypto investors. A Financial Times investigation estimated that Trump family crypto ventures earned about $1 billion in pre-tax profits over the past year.
Zhao’s pardon joins a list of controversial clemency actions by Trump. He earlier pardoned January 6 riot offenders and commuted ex-Congressman George Santos’s sentence for wire fraud and identity theft.
