Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao has received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump after serving time in prison for failing to safeguard the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange against money laundering, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
“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 spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.
The pardon is the latest act of clemency granted to a crypto entrepreneur, highlighting the Trump administration’s positioning as an ally of the digital asset industry.
Zhao served a four-month sentence in 2024 following a guilty plea for failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering measures at Binance. The plea was part of a broader settlement with the U.S. government, which included a $4.3 billion payment by Binance to resolve regulatory issues.
Authorities said that under Zhao’s leadership, Binance’s lack of safeguards allowed users linked to Hamas’s military wing, hackers, and money launderers to trade on the platform. Improper compliance also permitted some customers to trade with residents of Iran, violating U.S. sanctions. Between 2018 and 2022, Binance processed at least 1.1 million transactions in breach of U.S. sanctions, totaling roughly $898 million, according to government filings.
The 2023 plea deal required Zhao to step down as Binance CEO, though he retained a controlling stake in the company. Bloomberg reports that Binance’s valuation surged following Trump’s presidential victory, boosting Zhao’s net worth to $54.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
