zycrypto.com
U.S. President Donald Trump has granted Binance founder Changpeng Zhao a pardon, marking the latest clemency for the crypto industry from the pro-crypto administration.
The Wall Street Journal first reported news of the pardon on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
CZ pleaded guilty in November 2023 to one count of failing to implement an adequate Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program at the world’s largest crypto exchange, violating the Bank Secrecy Act. As part of his plea, Zhao agreed to step down from his role at Binance and serve a brief sentence at a minimum security prison in Lompoc, California. He was subsequently released from custody in September.
Binance also pleaded guilty to charges and agreed to pay a record-breaking $4.3 billion fine to settle charges with the U.S. Department of Justice, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Treasury Department.
“Biden’s War On Crypto Is Over”
With a presidential pardon, Zhao can conduct more business activities in the United States. If Binance is also awarded a pardon, like BitMEX did earlier this year, it could be able to easily expand operations in the U.S.
“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,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Levitt said in a press release. “In their desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden Administration pursued Mr. Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims.”
“The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over,” Leavitt added.
CZ’s Return To Binance Imminent?
CZ previously refuted a report from The Wall Street Journal, which stated the former Binance chief had sought a presidential pardon. Then, roughly two months later, he confirmed that he had formally submitted a pardon request in May 2025, but that his team had done so after The WSJ story emerged.
As ZyCrypto reported, citing the New York Post and Fox News correspondent Charles Gasparino, momentum for a presidential pardon picked up earlier this month. Gasparino said that Trump was “leaning toward a pardon,” which could facilitate CZ’s return to Binance.
With the pardon now official, it remains to be seen whether CZ, who is Binance’s largest shareholder, will return to an executive role at the exchange.