President Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, who served prison time for failing to stop criminals from using the platform to move money connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking, and terrorism.
This pardon comes following months of lobbying by the company and Zhao’s role in driving massive gains for the Trump family’s crypto venture. Signed on Wednesday, it’s the latest in a recent wave of controversial clemencies issued by the president.
Related | As Trump claims to clean up crime, his past pardons haunt him
Zhao, who pleaded guilty in 2023, served four months in prison. According to The Wall Street Journal, prosecutors said illicit transactions under his oversight caused “significant harm to U.S. national security.”
Now, with Trump’s pardon, the world’s largest crypto exchange could return to U.S. operations, clearing a major legal hurdle.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt framed the move as a rebuke of the Biden administration.
“President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency,” she said in a statement to NBC News and various other outlets. “In their desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden Administration pursued Mr. Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims. The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over.”
The pardon comes after Binance spent nearly a year pushing for relief. Earlier this year, the company hired popular lobbyist Ches McDowell to advance the case, while Zhao filed a formal clemency application.
Since Trump’s election, Binance has backed the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial crypto venture, which has generated more revenue in the past year than their traditional property portfolio. Binance has also helped drive World Liberty’s cryptocurrency stablecoin USD1, facilitating a $2 billion investment from an outside investor earlier this year.
Representatives of the Trump family have even discussed taking a financial stake in Binance’s U.S. operations.
“Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice,” Zhao wrote on X after the announcement. “Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance web3 worldwide.”
The pardon could also relieve some of the pressure on Binance from U.S. regulators. The company has been under a Justice Department monitorship meant to ensure it follows financial crime laws, and it faced a record $4.3 billion fine after investigators found it had become a hub for laundering money for sanctioned groups and criminal organizations.
Binance could benefit in other ways. The company has struggled to regain a foothold in the U.S., but with Zhao’s pardon, it now has a more straightforward path to resume operations in the country—potentially boosting the Trump family’s World Liberty crypto ventures.
Zhao’s pardon is the latest in a series of high-profile clemencies that have drawn widespread criticism from Democrats and ethics watchdogs. In recent months, Trump has also granted pardons to reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, rapper Lil Wayne, and former New York Rep. George Santos.
Trump’s increasingly controversial clemency decisions continue to underscore how the president’s political influence and family business interests are increasingly intertwined. It also raises questions about how presidents can use clemency powers to reward allies while also shaping industries that affect their personal fortunes.
Alex Samuels October 23, 2025 at 11:00PM From Daily Kos
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