U.S. President Donald Trump has granted a presidential pardon to Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, months after Zhao completed a four-month prison sentence for violating the Bank Secrecy Act.
Zhao, who had confirmed requesting a pardon earlier this year, pleaded guilty in November 2023. As part of his plea deal, he resigned as CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange he founded, agreed to a $50 million fine, and served his sentence, which ended in 2024. Binance itself also pleaded guilty and agreed to a record-breaking $4.3 billion fine to the U.S. government.
Shortly after the news broke, Zhao posted on X, stating he was “deeply grateful.”
The pardon has drawn sharp political reaction. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement claiming Zhao was “prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency.”
When asked about the decision during a press conference on Thursday, Trump acknowledged the recommendation from supporters.
“I don’t know, he was recommended by a lot of people,” Trump said. “A lot of people said that he wasn’t guilty of anything, he served four months in jail and they say that he was not guilty of anything… They said that what he did is not even a crime, it wasn’t a crime, that he was prosecuted by the Biden administration, and so I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of very good people.”
