Trump Pardons Convicted Binance Crypto Founder Changpeng Zhao

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump after serving time for failing to protect the world’s largest crypto exchange from money laundering. 

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump used his constitutional power to pardon Zhao, who the Biden administration prosecuted amidst their ongoing war on cryptocurrency. 

In 2024, Changpeng Zhao spent four months following his admission that Binance lacked sufficient anti-money laundering measures, as part of a settlement that included a $4.3 billion deal with the US government. 

Authorities at the time claimed that Zhao’s leadership allowed hackers, Hamas’s military wing, and money launderers to trade on Binance, with some transactions violating US sanctions- for example, between 2018 and 2022, over 1.1 million transactions worth approximately $898 million. 

In 2023, Zhao’s plea deal led to his resignation as Binance CEO, but he retained his controlling stake, which grew substantially following Trump’s election. 

According to Bloomberg, Zhao’s net worth is about $54.5 billion. Additionally, Binance Coin (BNB), associated with Zhao’s firm, surged following the pardon. 

Bloomberg previously reported that Trump’s family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial Inc., considered working with Binance. Zhao reportedly met with Steve Witkoff and the Middle East envoy after his release.

Trump has used his clemency powers to revoke several crypto-related prosecutions, including pardons for Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and the founders of Bitmex.

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 In April, the Justice Department disbanded its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and announced it would suspend investigations not aligned with the administration’s priorities, signalling a slowdown in crypto enforcement efforts.