Trump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao: WSJ

The president granted a full pardon to Changpeng Zhao, reversing one of the most high-profile crypto convictions in US history.

by Blockworks /

October 23, 2025 11:25 am

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao | Piaras Ó Mídheach/Web Summit via Sportsfile/"PO1_3394″ (CC license)

US President Donald Trump has issued a full pardon to Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former chief executive of Binance.

Zhao, widely known as “CZ,” pleaded guilty in 2023 to violations of U.S. anti-money-laundering laws and was serving a four-month prison sentence following a $4.3 billion settlement between Binance and the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.

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The pardon removes all remaining legal penalties against Zhao, who had stepped down from Binance as part of the plea deal, according to the report.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the WSJ that Trump had “exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency.

“The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over.”

Zhao, a Canadian citizen born in China, founded Binance in 2017 and built it into the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume. His conviction stemmed from failures to implement anti-money-laundering controls and violations of U.S. sanctions.

This is a developing story.

This article was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by editor Michael McSweeney before publication.

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