US President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to money laundering at the crypto exchange in 2023. The White House announced the pardon, citing Trump’s constitutional authority. Zhao and Binance were fined over $4 billion after a 2023 guilty plea to violating the US Bank Secrecy Act. The exchange failed to report more than 10,000 suspicious transactions, including those tied to terrorism and child exploitation. Binance was banned from operating in the US and agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines, while Zhao resigned as CEO and paid $50 million. He was later sentenced to four months in prison. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump had ‘exercised his constitutional authority’ by pardoning Zhao, claiming he had been ‘egregiously oversentenced’ by the Biden administration in their ‘war on cryptocurrency.’ The pardon came amid months of Binance lobbying and as part of Trump’s growing ties with the crypto industry, which he has vowed to make the ‘crypto capital of the world.’ Critics, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have condemned the move as ‘corruption,’ suggesting it could allow Binance to resume operations in the US. Analysts have also raised concerns about the overlap between Trump’s crypto ventures and his political power, with recent reports alleging the use of his office to promote personal crypto projects. Trump defended the decision, stating it was at the request of ‘a lot of very good people,’ and Zhao thanked Trump on X, vowing to help make America the ‘Capital of Crypto.’
The announcement followed months of Binance lobbying and came amid its growing ties with Trump. Formerly a crypto skeptic, the president last year vowed to make the US the ‘crypto capital of the world.’ Trump’s family has deepened ties to the industry through ventures and investments. Binance earlier this year backed the World Liberty Financial—a crypto-venture co-founded by Trump and his sons, which has raised approximately $550 million in token sales since 2024—by accepting its USD1 stablecoin. The pardon for Zhao, which analysts say could allow Binance to resume operations in the US, drew criticism that Trump was aiding a figure whose company had financially benefited his family. Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Senate Banking Committee’s ranking member, denounced the move as ‘corruption’ and urged Congress to act.
Critics have claimed Trump’s crypto ventures and political power overlap dangerously. In August, the New York Times accused him of using his office to promote personal crypto projects, including a Solana-based ‘TRUMP’ token launched earlier this year. Trump, who last month filed a $15 billion defamation suit against the paper, defended pardoning Zhao, telling reporters he had acted ‘at the request of a lot of very good people.’ Zhao thanked Trump on X, vowing to ‘do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto.’ The pardoning of Zhao has raised significant questions about the intersection of political influence and financial interests, especially in the rapidly evolving crypto sector. Analysts are closely watching whether this move will lead to a resurgence of Binance in the US market or further scrutiny of the Trump administration’s ties to the cryptocurrency industry.