“The war on cryptocurrencies is over”: Donald Trump pardons Binance founder CZ

US President Donald Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance.

Zhao, widely known as CZ, pleaded guilty in November 2023 to violating US anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. This petition formed part of an overall deal with the US Department of Justice, under which Binance was required to pay a record $4.3 billion fine.

Chow eventually served four months in federal prison. The Department of Justice had originally filed a motion for a three-year prison sentence.

After issuing the pardon, the White House considered Zhao the victim of a conspiracy to trample the cryptocurrency industry carried out by the administration of former President Joe Biden. Regulators filed a host of lawsuits against prominent companies during this era, and the Department of Justice prosecuted prominent figures in the cryptocurrency industry for fraud.

“In its desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden administration pursued Mr. Chao even though there were no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims,” says Carolyn Leavitt, White House press secretary. “The Biden administration’s war on cryptocurrencies is over.”

Zhao, who founded Binance in 2017, is considered a legend in the cryptocurrency world for his optimistic statements and social media flair. Until his guilty plea, he routinely used his platform on X to deny allegations of wrongdoing at Binance.

Zhao is the latest in a series of cryptocurrency icons to be pardoned by Trump. The president has received endorsements and millions of dollars in donations from industry members.

Immediately after returning to office, Trump commuted the prison sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the dark web market site Silkroad. In late March, Trump pardoned the founders of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, who in 2022 pleaded guilty to charges related to their failure to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering program.

Although Chow has already served his allotted prison sentence, the pardon will expunge anti-money laundering violations and penalties from his criminal record.

“For him, I think it’s really about clearing his name,” says Patrick Hellman, who previously worked under Zhao as head of strategy at Binance. “I think this is closure for him.”

The pardon could also pave the way for Binance to return to the US market, which it was forced to exit as a condition of the DOJ settlement. Binance spent months seeking a pardon for Zhao, who was released from prison in September 2024, the Wall Street Journal previously reported.