Trump Pardons Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao, Declares End to Biden’s ‘War on Crypto’
WASHINGTON D.C. - President Trump has granted a full pardon to Changpeng Zhao, founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, the White House announced today. The move, framed as a correction of an “exaggerated and too heavy” sentence, signals a sharp departure from the Biden administration’s aggressive stance toward the crypto industry.
White House spokesperson Karoline leavitt stated the pardon was “considered with the greatest seriousness,” emphasizing that the four-month sentence handed down to Zhao in November 2023 for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance was disproportionate to the three-year prison term sought by prosecutors. Leavitt further noted that even the judge presiding over the case acknowledged the Biden administration’s sentencing request was excessive. “When he took office, [President Trump] made it clear that he wanted pardons to be granted to people who had been mistreated (…) and who had been excessively prosecuted by a Biden Justice Department used as a weapon. And that was certainly the case [Changpeng zhao],” she said.
The pardon effectively ends “the war waged by the Biden administration against the cryptocurrency sector,” according to Leavitt.The Biden administration pursued several enforcement actions against Binance and Zhao, alleging violations of U.S. anti-money laundering laws and sanctions regulations. While Zhao pleaded guilty to the charges and stepped down as CEO of Binance as part of a settlement, the pardon wipes the slate clean.
Analysts suggest the pardon, coupled with potentially more favorable regulatory frameworks, could pave the way for a significant resurgence of the Binance group within the United States.
