A draft of imprisoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao’s memoir details secret negotiations with U.S. Authorities that preceded his guilty plea to anti-money laundering charges and subsequent incarceration, according to a review by The New York Times. The manuscript also recounts a “run-in with ICE,” the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, during the process.
The nearly 300-page draft, described as a “vivid, albeit one-sided, account,” frames the negotiations as a shift for Zhao from technology entrepreneur to a defendant facing U.S. Legal action. Zhao’s plea in late 2023 led to his stepping down as CEO of Binance and a four-month sentence at Federal Correctional Institution Lompoc I, from which he was released in September 2024. The memoir reportedly includes criticisms of the Justice Department and observations about regulators and political figures.
The negotiations culminated in a $4.3 billion fine for Binance, in addition to Zhao’s prison sentence. The memoir offers an inside perspective on a high-profile white-collar prosecution, lampooning enforcement choices along the way. According to the draft, Zhao received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump in October 2025.
Since his release, Zhao has largely refrained from commenting on Binance’s operations, focusing instead on philanthropic endeavors, educational initiatives and completing the memoir. He signaled his intention to publish quickly, writing on X in January that the book would contain “more details” and that “there is nothing to hide.”
The pardon granted by Trump has drawn scrutiny, particularly regarding the Trump family’s connections to Binance and its affiliated cryptocurrency startup, World Liberty Financial. Democratic lawmakers have suggested the pardon may represent a conflict of interest. Trump’s decision follows similar clemency granted to other prominent figures in the cryptocurrency industry, including Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the dark web marketplace Silk Road, and Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, both of whom had previously pleaded guilty to money-laundering violations.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump’s pardon was an exercise of his constitutional authority and signaled “the Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over.” Zhao reportedly lobbied the Trump administration for a pardon through lawyer and lobbyist Ches McDowell, a longtime friend of Donald Trump Jr.
