In a decision that has ignited immediate debate, former President Donald Trump has granted a full pardon to Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the billionaire co-founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. Zhao had recently served a four-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges of failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.
The pardon, announced by the White House, places a spotlight on the increasingly complex relationship between political power and the burgeoning digital asset industry.
From Corporate Powerhouse to Convict, to Pardoned Figure
Zhao founded Binance in 2017, and it rapidly grew to become the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume. However, its rise was marred by a lengthy U.S. government investigation. In 2023, as reported by Reuters, Zhao pleaded guilty to federal charges, with Binance agreeing to pay over $4 billion in penalties. Zhao subsequently stepped down as CEO and began his prison sentence in 2024.
The pardon effectively clears his criminal record and could significantly smooth the path for Binance’s potential re-entry into the U.S. market, a move that has been heavily scrutinized by regulators.
A Political Firestorm and Accusations of “Mis-Justice”
The Trump administration framed the pardon as a necessary correction to governmental overreach. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized the prosecution as “egregious over-sentencing” and accused the previous Biden administration of being “very hostile” toward the crypto industry.
This narrative of a regulatory crackdown is a topic frequently analyzed by financial outlets like Bloomberg, which have covered the SEC’s aggressive stance under the previous administration.
Trump later defended his decision to reporters, stating he was persuaded by “a lot of people” who believed Zhao was not guilty.
The Trump-Binance Connection and Campaign Support
The pardon has drawn scrutiny due to the financial and political ties between Zhao’s network and the Trump family. According to an investigation by the Financial Times, Binance has been a “key supporter” of World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture linked to the Trump family. The FT report also noted that the Trump family’s various crypto ventures have realized substantial profits, estimated at nearly a billion dollars over the past year.
Furthermore, the digital asset industry has become a major financial backer for Trump’s campaign, contributing over $100 million and marking a stark reversal from his earlier skepticism of cryptocurrencies.
Backlash and Allegations of Corruption
The move was met with swift condemnation from prominent Democrats. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, posted a sharp critique on social media platform X.
“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 wrote. “If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption, it owns it.”
Zhao expressed his gratitude in a post, thanking Trump for “upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.”
This pardon aligns with a pattern of controversial clemency actions by Trump, including pardons for individuals convicted in the January 6th Capitol attack and the commutation of former Republican congressman George Santos’s sentence for fraud. For ongoing legal analysis of presidential pardon power, resources like SCOTUSblog provide invaluable, non-partisan insight.
The decision underscores the growing political clout of the crypto industry and sets a contentious precedent at the intersection of justice, money, and power.
