President Donald Trump pardoned Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, the convicted founder of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.
Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to a single violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, which included failure to properly implement an effective anti-money laundering program. Binance paid $4.3 billion to resolve the Department of Justice’s investigation led by former Attorney General Merrick Garland and coordinated by then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen through its financial crime units.
Zhao left federal prison in September 2024 after serving a four-month sentence.
"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 Leavitt said in a statement.
The crypto industry has been revived under the new administration, which has promised to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world.
While Biden’s DOJ said that Zhao broke the law, some believe the charges were part of the Biden administration’s war on crypto and would likely not have merited jail time for any other exchange or financial CEO.
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Reports of the potential pardon had been circulating in recent weeks, with Zhao himself commenting on a report by FOX Business’ Charlie Gasparino via X.
"Thank you Charles. Great news if true. Minor correction, there were no "fraud" charges. I believe they (the DOJ under the last administration) looked very hard for it, but didn't find any. I pleaded to a single violation of Banking Secrecy Act (BSA)."
Zhao remains the largest shareholder in Binance, though it’s unclear if he’ll return to the company.
Cryptocurrencies are on a roll this year. Bitcoin topped a fresh record, hitting the $126,000 level earlier this month but has since drifted down to the $111,000 level. Still, it has advanced over 19% this year.
Two crypto exchanges, Bullish and Gemini, founded by the Winklevoss Twins, went public this year, joining Coinbase.
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A sign of demand and support for the crypto industry is on the rise.
FOX Business' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
