President Donald Trump has officially pardoned former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, marking a major political and regulatory shift in how the U.S. approaches the crypto industry. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the decision, framing it as an end to what she called the Biden administration’s “war on cryptocurrency.”
“President Trump exercised his constitutional authority to pardon Mr. Zhao, who was unfairly targeted despite no allegations of fraud or victims,” Leavitt said in a statement. She added, “The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over.”
Zhao, also known as CZ, thanked Trump on X, writing, “We’ll do everything we can to help make America the capital of crypto and advance Web3 worldwide.” Binance and current CEO Richard Teng also praised the move, calling it a sign of progress for the crypto sector.
Zhao’s pardon may open the door for him to reengage with Binance, though a previous plea deal had barred him from managing the exchange. He served four months in prison after pleading guilty in 2023 to compliance failures and paying a $50 million fine, while Binance settled for $4.3 billion.
Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, criticized the pardon, calling it politically motivated and demanding stronger crypto regulations.
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