President Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who previously served prison time and faced federal oversight for the company’s anti–money-laundering violations.
The White House confirmed Wednesday that Trump “exercised his constitutional authority” to pardon Zhao, whom Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said had been targeted by the prior administration. “The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over,” she added.
Zhao, who served four months in prison for violating U.S. anti–money-laundering laws, left prison in September 2024. The Justice Department had previously fined Binance $4.3 billion and imposed strict oversight, calling the exchange a hub for laundering illicit funds.
The pardon will likely curtail the DOJ’s three-year monitorship overseeing Binance’s compliance, though a separate Treasury Department review remains in place.
Since Trump’s return to office, Binance has become a key partner in the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial venture, supporting its dollar-pegged cryptocurrency, USD1, and helping secure a $2 billion outside investment earlier this year.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
