In a significant decision, President Donald Trump has granted a pardon to Changpeng Zhao. Zhao is the founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The White House announced it on Thursday. A pardon is an executive action that forgives a person for a crime and eliminates the penalties associated with it. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement. She said President Trump exercised his constitutional authority to pardon Zhao.
She described the case as part of the “Biden Administration’s war on cryptocurrency.” The statement argued that such prosecutions damaged US leadership in technology and innovation.
Breaking: President Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, whose crypto exchange has been boosting the Trump family's own crypto venture https://t.co/OxksrhgUyJ
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 23, 2025“The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over,” the statement concluded.
Changpeng Zhao, widely known as “CZ,” pleaded guilty to money laundering violations in 2023. As part of the settlement, he stepped down as Binance’s CEO. The company itself agreed to pay a massive $4.3 billion to settle related allegations with US authorities.
A judge sentenced Zhao to four months in prison in April 2024. Federal prosecutors had initially requested a much longer, three-year sentence. The pardon is a major event in the cryptocurrency world. The news caused Bitcoin’s price to drop nearly 2% within minutes.
According to reports, Binance had been actively lobbying former President Trump. The pardon could potentially allow Binance to resume full operations within the United States.
