Trump Pardons Convicted Crypto Founder Who Helped President's Family Make Billions on Crypto Empire By Nicole Acosta

President Donald Trump has pardoned former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who spent four months behind bars after pleading guilty to a federal money laundering charge.

The pardon, which was signed by Trump on Wednesday, Oct. 22, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Oct. 23.

“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 shared with CNBC and CNN.

The Wall Street Journal reported in August that Trump family’s crypto enterprise had received support through “a low-profile trading platform operated behind the scenes by Binance.” Per the outlet, the crypto venture earned an estimated $4.5 billion since the 2024 election.

Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program in November 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release. He agreed to resign as CEO of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and subsequently served a four month sentence in 2024, CNN reported.

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“These actions by the Biden Administration severely damaged the United States’ reputation as a global leader in technology and innovation,” Leavitt added in her statement, per CNBC. “The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over.”

In a social media post, Zhao said he was “deeply grateful” to Trump for the pardon.

“Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice,” Zhao wrote, followed by four praying emojis. “Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance web3 worldwide.”