President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, a White House official confirmed on Thursday.
Summary
- President Donald Trump has reportedly pardoned crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao.
- Zhao is the founder and former chief executive officer of Binance.
- CZ served four months in prison in 2024.
Zhao, a former chief executive officer of Binance, was charged and found guilty of money laundering charges and sentenced to four months in prison in the United States. He served his sentence and was released.
CNBC reported on Trump’s move, citing a statement from the White House.
“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,” Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, said in a statement.
Zhao stepped down as Binance CEO
Prior to the conviction in April 2024, Zhao, popularly known as “CZ”, resigned as the CEO of Binance in November 2023.
He pled guilty to a money laundering count, with this coming after U.S. authorities filed charges against Zhao and Binance.
Binance’s former CEO agreed to step down as part of a deal with the U.S. government. That deal included a $4.3 billion settlement.
While he no longer has an active role at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Zhao remains widely connected to it, largely as Binance’s largest stakeholder.
Reports around Trump’s potential pardon for the crypto billionaire emerged in recent months and sees Zhao join other top industry personalities to benefit from this. Trump pardoned Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht and BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes.
The family of Sam Bankman-Fried, the convicted founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX were also said to be eyeing a Trump pardon.
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