Trump Grants Full Pardon to Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao

On October 23, 2025, President Donald Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon to Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, the founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Zhao had pleaded guilty in November 2023 to a Bank Secrecy Act violation for failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program at Binance, as part of a broader $4.3 billion settlement between Binance and the U.S. Department of Justice, FinCEN, OFAC, and the Treasury Department. He served a four-month prison sentence in California in 2024 as part of that settlement.

The pardon erased Zhao's federal felony conviction, though the underlying 2023 settlement terms binding Binance as a corporate entity — including an independent compliance monitor — remained separately in force. Industry observers noted the pardon could ease a path for Zhao or Binance to re-engage more directly with the U.S. market after more than a year of lobbying efforts.

The decision drew controversy over potential conflicts of interest connected to World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a cryptocurrency venture linked to the Trump family. Contemporaneous reporting noted that an Abu Dhabi-based investment vehicle had used a large sum in WLFI's USD1 stablecoin as part of an investment tied to Binance, fueling allegations — denied by representatives for Zhao and Binance — that business dealings with the Trump-linked venture may have factored into the pardon decision. Several lawmakers publicly criticized the pardon on these grounds.

Following the pardon, Zhao stated publicly that he did not intend to return to lead Binance, a role held by CEO Richard Teng since 2023, but said he would continue informal advisory involvement in digital-asset policy discussions in several countries.