President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Chao Changpeng, who pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering as head of a cryptocurrency exchange, the White House announced Thursday.
The pardon of Mr. Zhao, popularly known as CZ, comes two months after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump family’s own cryptocurrency venture, which has generated about $4.5 billion since the 2024 election, has been aided by “partnerships with a discreet trading platform secretly controlled by Binance.”
“President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by pardoning Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden administration in the crypto war,” White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said in a statement.
“The Biden administration’s desire to punish the crypto industry led it to pursue Mr. Zhao despite the lack of fraud charges and identifiable victims,” Levitt said.
Asked late Thursday why he pardoned Zhao, President Trump said: “I don’t know. He was recommended by a lot of people.”
“A lot of people say he was innocent,” Trump said. “And at the request of many very good people, I granted him a pardon.”
The pardon grant to Zhao came nearly a week after Trump commuted the 87-month prison sentence of former New York Congressman George Santos, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
“I am deeply grateful to President Trump for today’s pardon and for supporting America’s commitment to equity, innovation, and justice,” Chao said in a post on X.
“We are committed to making America the crypto capital and promoting Web 3 around the world,” he said, adding, “We are still thinking about it, but will be posting more in the future.”
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren denounced the pardon as an example of “corruption.”
“First, Mr. Changpeng Zhao has pled guilty to criminal money laundering charges,” said Warren, ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
“He then backed one of Donald Trump’s crypto ventures and lobbied for a pardon,” she said.
“Today, Donald Trump did his part and granted clemency. Unless Congress stops this type of corruption with pending market structure legislation, this lawlessness will become theirs.”
Chao pleaded guilty in Seattle federal court in November 2023 and agreed to step down as Binance’s CEO as part of the company’s $4.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice.
According to the Justice Department, Zhao had been charged with violating the Bank Secrecy Act for failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering program and intentionally violating U.S. economic sanctions by attempting to profit from the U.S. market without implementing legally required controls.
Binance was charged with operating an unauthorized money transfer business in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and conspiracy charges.
He was sentenced in April 2024 to just four months in prison.
Federal prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Mr. Zhao to three years in prison.
Mr. Levitt referred to that request in a statement Thursday regarding Mr. Zhao’s pardon.
“The Biden administration asked for a three-year prison term for Mr. Zhao, but the sentence was so far outside sentencing guidelines that even the judge said he had never heard anything like it in his 30-year career,” Levitt said.
“These actions by the Biden administration have seriously damaged America’s reputation as a global leader in technology and innovation.” “The Biden administration’s crypto war is over.”
Correction: Binance was charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. A previous version incorrectly listed the name of the act.
