President Donald Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on October 24, 2025. Zhao had pleaded guilty in 2023 to money-laundering violations after his platform facilitated illicit transactions linked to child sex abuse, terrorism, and drug trafficking. The decision raises questions about conflicts of interest due to Binance's ties to the Trump family's crypto ventures.
Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, founded Binance in 2017, building it into a platform with 280 million users and over $217 billion in daily trading volume, holding 40% of the centralized crypto exchange market share. The exchange facilitates cryptocurrency trades worldwide but faced U.S. scrutiny for non-compliance. In 2019, U.S. authorities effectively banned the global version of Binance, leading to the launch of a limited Binance.US service.
Federal prosecutors in 2023 accused Binance of becoming a hub for illicit activities, enabling transactions connected to child sex abuse, narcotics, terrorist financing including by Hamas and al-Qaeda, and money laundering. The platform lacked proper protocols to report suspicious activities, with one compliance staffer noting in court documents: “we need a banner ‘is washing drug money too hard these days - come to binance we got cake for you.’” Prosecutors detailed over 1.5 million virtual currency trades totaling nearly $900 million that violated U.S. sanctions, including those involving Iran.
Zhao pleaded guilty in November 2023 to one count of failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program under the Bank Secrecy Act, the first such prison sentence for that violation. He served four months in federal prison, released in September 2024, paid a $50 million fine, and stepped down as CEO while retaining an estimated 90% ownership and a net worth over $80 billion. During sentencing, Zhao stated: “I failed here. I deeply regret my failure, and I am sorry.” Binance agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement and exit from the U.S. market.
Trump announced the pardon on October 24, 2025, stating: “A lot of people say that he wasn’t guilty of anything. He served four months in jail, and they say that he was not guilty of anything.” He added that Zhao had been “persecuted by the Biden administration” and the pardon came at the request of “a lot of very good people.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump exercised his constitutional authority to correct Biden's “egregious over-sentencing” and end the prior administration's “war on cryptocurrency.”
The pardon lifts restrictions barring Zhao from U.S. operations, potentially allowing his return to Binance leadership. It coincides with Binance's involvement in the Trump family's World Liberty Financial, where Binance provided code for the USD1 stablecoin and promoted it to users. A UAE-based firm used $2 billion in USD1 to acquire a stake in Binance, expected to generate millions in returns for World Liberty, controlled by the Trumps and Steve Witkoff's family. Trump holds nearly 15.75 billion World Liberty tokens worth over $3.4 billion.
Critics, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, called it corruption: “First, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge. Then he boosted one of Donald Trump’s crypto ventures and lobbied for a pardon. Today, Donald Trump did his part and pardoned him.” Economist Robert Reich described it as part of a “Pay-to-Pardon Scheme.” Zhao responded: “Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.” A Binance spokesperson added: “We thank President Trump for his leadership and for his commitment to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world.”