President Trump grants a 'full and unconditional pardon' to the convicted founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance



On Thursday, October 23, 2025, local time, US President Donald Trump granted a pardon to Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, who had pleaded guilty to money laundering and was sentenced to prison.

Trump pardons convicted Binance founder 'CZ' Zhao | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-pardons-convicted-binance-founder-zhao-white-house-says-2025-10-23/



Trump Pardons Convicted Binance Founder - WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/trump-binance-changpeng-zhao-pardon-7509bd63

Trump pardons former Binance CEO after guilty plea in letting cybercrime proceeds flow through platform | The Record from Recorded Future News
https://therecord.media/changpeng-zhao-former-binance-ceo-pardoned-donald-trump

On October 23, 2025, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt announced that President Trump had pardoned Zhao. Reuters reported on the pardon, saying, 'This marks President Trump's push for the cryptocurrency industry and his latest move to clear his name of past misconduct.'

Zhao, the billionaire cryptocurrency tycoon known as CZ, admitted that Binance violated the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement anti-money laundering measures and agreed to pay a total of $4.3 billion in fines. Zhao resigned as CEO of Binance after pleading guilty.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao admits to money laundering and resigns, total fine exceeds 630 billion yen - GIGAZINE



Since taking office in January 2025, President Trump has amassed enormous wealth from the cryptocurrency business, including launching his own cryptocurrency, $TRUMP .

During the 2024 US presidential election , the cryptocurrency industry poured a large amount of money into President Trump's election campaign, and President Trump also promised to take a pro-cryptocurrency stance, saying, 'I will end the Biden administration's crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry.'

Binance has also offered support to World Liberty Financial, one of the cryptocurrency ventures run by President Trump's family. Binance accepted USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial , a company run by President Trump's family, as payment for a $2 billion (approximately 300 billion yen) investment from investment firm MGX. Reuters noted that Binance's decision to accept USD1, which was only issued in March 2025, provided a major boost to World Liberty Financial's business. Reuters also noted that 'the $2 billion worth of USD1 accepted by Binance constitutes the majority of USD1 in circulation at the time of writing.'

In March 2025, Zhao also asked President Trump for a pardon.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance founder Changpeng Zhao seeks pardon from President Trump, but denies doing business with Trump-owned cryptocurrency ventures - GIGAZINE


by Web Summit

Zhao was finally pardoned in October 2025. Regarding the pardon, Levitt said, 'Zhao was prosecuted by the Joe Biden administration in its 'war on cryptocurrency.'' He also denied criticism of President Trump's promotion of cryptocurrency, claiming that the pardon was carefully considered.

In response to President Trump's pardon, Zhao posted on X, 'I am deeply grateful to President Trump for the pardon granted today and for upholding America's commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice. We will do all we can to make America the crypto capital and develop Web3 around the world.'




President Trump granted Zhao a full and unconditional pardon, which Reuters reported could pave the way for Zhao to return to Binance. Reuters also noted that the pardon comes at a time when the cryptocurrency industry is booming under the Trump administration, potentially giving Binance another opportunity to expand its business in the United States.

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, expressed its gratitude for President Trump's pardon of Zhao.

Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Zhao's pardon, saying, 'First, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. Then, he supported one of President Donald Trump's cryptocurrency ventures and lobbied for a pardon. And today, President Trump has finally done his part to pardon Zhao.'

In the United States, the President has broad powers to issue pardons to vacate criminal convictions or commute sentences, and in March 2025, President Trump pardoned the three co-founders of the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX. The three co-founders of BitMEX were convicted in 2022 of violating the Bank Secrecy Act. President Trump also pardoned Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road , known as the originator of the dark web.

President Trump pardons Ross Ulbricht, the cult hero of the cryptocurrency world who was sentenced to life in prison and who founded Silk Road, a black market where goods could be bought and sold with Bitcoin - GIGAZINE


by Gage Skidmore

Voidzilla , an opinion-driven YouTube channel that comments on the news with the satirical exaggeration that 'crime is legal,' criticized the pardon as 'the worst corruption in history,' pointing out the administration's collusion with World Liberty Financial, which is associated with President Trump.

historic levels of corruption - YouTube


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