Presidential Pardon Follows Months of Pressure

U.S. President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao after lobbying from allies and industry figures who told him Zhao “wasn’t guilty,” according to Trump’s remarks at a Thursday press conference. The pardon, signed Wednesday, was confirmed by Binance.

“He was recommended by a lot of people,” Trump said. “People say that he wasn’t guilty of anything. I don’t know him, I don’t believe I’ve ever met him, but I’ve been told he had a lot of support, and that what he did is not even a crime.” Trump accused the Biden administration of “persecuting” Zhao, framing the pardon as a correction to what he called a politically motivated prosecution.

Zhao, who stepped down as Binance’s chief executive as part of his plea deal, had been serving a four-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to one count of violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act. The charge related to Binance’s failure to maintain an effective anti–money-laundering program. His release from prison earlier this year had already drawn widespread attention across the cryptocurrency industry.

Investor Takeaway

Trump’s pardon of CZ removes legal barriers for one of crypto’s most influential figures, potentially reopening the door to his return at Binance or other ventures.

Defense Lawyers Call It “The Right Decision”

CZ’s attorney Teresa Goody Guillén welcomed the pardon, describing it as “the right call.” “CZ had a single charge of failure to have an effective compliance program. No fraud, no victims, no criminal history, no money laundering,” she said. Guillén added that Zhao was “the first and only known first-time offender in U.S. history to receive a prison sentence for this single, non-fraud-related charge.”

According to court records, the judge in Zhao’s case found no evidence that he was aware of illicit transactions, ruling that it was reasonable for him to believe there were no illegal funds moving through the platform. Zhao’s supporters have long argued that the punishment was disproportionate, given that Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines and settlements as part of a sweeping deal with U.S. authorities in 2023.

CZ Responds and Spars With Critics

In a post on X after the pardon, Zhao said he was “deeply grateful” and pledged to “help make America the capital of crypto and advance Web3 worldwide.” The pardon could lift restrictions that had barred him from working at Binance, though neither he nor the company confirmed whether he planned to return to an executive role.

On Friday, Zhao responded to criticism from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who claimed he “pleaded guilty to a criminal money-laundering charge.” Zhao replied that “there were no money laundering charges,” saying he took responsibility for compliance failures, not for laundering money himself. “She can’t get her facts right,” he wrote. One user accused Zhao of “playing semantics,” but Zhao said his plea did not involve any allegation of direct criminal intent or proceeds of crime.

Investor Takeaway

The pardon reignites debate over how far U.S. crypto enforcement should go—and whether compliance failures should be treated as criminal offenses or regulatory breaches.

Political Fallout Over the Pardon

The decision drew swift criticism from senior Democrats. Warren accused Trump of corruption, alleging that Zhao “financed President Donald Trump’s stablecoin and lobbied for a pardon.” She added: “If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption, it owns it.”

Her remarks followed reports that Zhao had previously expressed openness to a pardon. In late 2024, he said he “wouldn’t mind a pardon” from Trump. Warren’s comments also referenced a Bloomberg report linking Zhao to Trump’s USD1 stablecoin project, a claim Zhao has denied. In July, he threatened to sue Bloomberg over the story, calling it “false and defamatory.”

Representative Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, also condemned the pardon, calling it “an appalling but unsurprising reflection of Trump’s presidency.” Waters accused the former president of “doing massive favors for crypto criminals who have helped line his pockets,” citing allegations that Binance had facilitated transactions linked to illegal activity—a claim Binance has repeatedly denied.

The controversy comes amid scrutiny of Trump’s finances since returning to office. Reports suggest his family has earned over $1 billion in pre-tax profits over the past year, a figure his son Eric Trump said was “probably more.” Critics argue the pardon adds to perceptions that Trump’s administration has become increasingly intertwined with the crypto industry, whose executives have hosted campaign fundraisers and contributed heavily to pro-Trump super PACs.

For the crypto sector, the pardon represents both a political flashpoint and a potential reopening for Binance’s founder—an outcome that could reshape the conversation about regulatory fairness and political influence in the digital asset world.