President Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao (CZ), co-founder of Binance Exchange. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, President Trump exercised his constitutional authority to end the war on crypto that was orchestrated by the Biden administration.
“President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was persecuted by the Biden administration in their war on cryptocurrency,” Leavitt said.
According to a report from WSJ, President Trump also rewarded the former Binance CEO following his efforts to support the Trump family’s crypto ventures. Notably, the Binance ecosystem, including the exchange and its affiliated platforms such as PancakeSwap (CAKE), has supported the Trump family’s crypto products through listings.
The Trump family’s crypto ventures include the World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the Official Trump (TRUMP), Melania Meme (MELANIA), and the World Liberty Financial USD (USD1).
In 2023, Binance and CZ agreed to pay $4.3 billion to settle with the U.S. government. CZ had pleaded on the count of not maintaining proper Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls.
As such, CZ was sentenced to four months in prison in 2024. Following the pardon, CZ is effectively forgiven the conviction under U.S. law, thus restoring his lost rights. Consequently, CZ can freely enter the United States and do business in the country.
Following the announcement, Binance’s native coin BNB jumped as much as 6% to reach a range high of above $1,150. The large-cap altcoin, with a fully diluted valuation of about $157 billion, traded around $1,128 at press time.
In the long term, the CZ’s pardon will help bolster investors’ confidence in BNB, Binance, and its related products.
CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.
All opinions and insights shared represent the author's own views on current market conditions. Please do your own research before making investment decisions. Neither the writer nor the publication assumes responsibility for your financial choices.
Sponsored content and affiliate links may appear on our site. Advertisements are marked clearly, and our editorial content remains entirely independent from our ad partners.
Post-quantum startup Project Eleven has today awarded a 1 BTC ($77,736 at writing time) prize…
Apecoin raised many eyebrows with an over 80% jump in just a few hours. The…
The Ethereum Foundation sold 10,000 ETH on Thursday at an average price of $2,387 per…
Bitcoin has climbed more than 30% from its February lows and is pressing toward $80,000,…
XRP is moving beyond its own ledger faster than most observers are tracking. In the…
The Enjin debate got a lot more louder today after CoinMarketCap amplified a brutal industry…
