US President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, marking a dramatic shift in Washington’s stance towards the cryptocurrency industry.
The White House announced on Thursday that Zhao’s conviction had been wiped, accusing former president Joe Biden of waging an unnecessary “war on crypto” that hurt America’s global tech reputation.
Zhao, who turned Binance into the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, pleaded guilty in 2023 to breaching US anti-money-laundering laws. He served four months in prison in 2024.
The pardon clears Zhao’s criminal record and could reopen Binance’s path to returning to the US market, two years after suspending operations under a Department of Justice deal.
“In their desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden Administration pursued Mr Zhao despite no fraud or identifiable victims,” the White House said. “That war on crypto is now over.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that Binance had lobbied for nearly a year for Zhao’s pardon and was a key supporter of the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial.
Reacting on social media, Zhao said he was “deeply grateful” to Trump for “upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.”
Democrats swiftly condemned the move. Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on X: “CZ pleaded guilty to money laundering and was sentenced to prison. But then he financed Trump’s stablecoin and lobbied for a pardon. Today, he got it.”
Trump has become one of the crypto industry’s strongest political allies, reversing his earlier criticism. His administration has rolled back regulations imposed during Biden’s tenure, with the sector reportedly contributing more than $100 million to Trump’s re-election campaign.
The pardon of Zhao adds to a list of controversial clemency decisions by Trump, including his blanket pardon of those convicted for the 6 January Capitol attack and the commutation of disgraced Republican George Santos’s sentence.
