President Donald Trump has issued a full pardon to Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the billionaire founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, the White House announced Thursday.
The decision clears Zhao’s federal conviction from 2023, which stemmed from charges that Binance failed to maintain an effective anti–money laundering program.
Zhao, who stepped down as CEO after pleading guilty in late 2023, had served a four-month prison sentence that ended in September 2024.
His plea deal was part of a sweeping $4.3 billion settlement between Binance and the U.S. Department of Justice, one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history. Zhao also paid a personal fine of $50 million.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump “exercised his constitutional authority” to issue the pardon, calling Zhao’s prosecution part of the Biden administration’s “war on cryptocurrency.” Leavitt argued there had been “no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims,” and said the case had damaged the United States’ reputation as a leader in innovation.
Federal officials, however, have previously described Binance’s compliance failures as enabling illegal financial activity. When the Justice Department announced its deal with Binance in 2023, then–Attorney General Merrick Garland said the company became the world’s largest crypto exchange “in part because of the crimes it committed.”
Then–Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen added that Binance’s “willful failures” allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers. Binance responded at the time by stating it “takes responsibility for this past chapter.”
The pardon marks another major clemency move from President Trump, who has granted pardons and commutations to several high-profile figures, including former Congressman George Santos, hip-hop artist Lil Wayne, and the co-founders of the crypto exchange BitMEX.
Critics have accused the administration of political favoritism, especially after reports tied members of the Trump family to cryptocurrency ventures that have profited since the 2024 election.
Supporters, however, see the pardon as a victory for the digital asset industry and a signal that the White House plans to adopt a more crypto-friendly stance moving forward.
For Zhao, who remains among the world’s richest individuals with a fortune exceeding $50 billion, the pardon effectively restores his legal standing in the U.S.
While it does not reverse the fines or compliance obligations placed on Binance, it does remove the criminal conviction from his record — a move that could allow him to re-enter public business and regulatory discussions in the global crypto sphere.
The decision is likely to intensify debate over the government’s approach to cryptocurrency regulation, testing how far presidential pardons can extend into a rapidly evolving industry that has often found itself at odds with Washington’s financial watchdogs.
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