Trump Grants Pardon To Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao: Report

• According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the pardon comes after months of efforts by Zhao to support the Trump family’s cryptocurrency ventures. 
• Trump had reportedly signaled to advisers that he viewed Zhao and other crypto executives as potentially facing politically motivated prosecution. 
• The report said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Trump had pardoned Zhao, declaring “the Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over.”

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has reportedly been granted a pardon by President Donald Trump.

According to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, the pardon comes after months of efforts by Zhao to support the Trump family’s cryptocurrency ventures. The president signed the pardon on Wednesday, sources said.

Binance Coin (BNB) led gains among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization in Thursday's midday trade. BNB’s price gained more than 5% in the last 24 hours, and retail sentiment on Stocktwits improved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past day.

What Did The White House Say?

According to the report, Trump had recently signaled to advisers that he viewed Zhao and other crypto executives as potentially facing politically motivated prosecution. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reportedly said Trump had “exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency.” 

“The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over.”

– Karloine Leavitt, Press Secretary, White House

The pardon comes after CZ pled guilty in early 2025 to charges involving failures to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) program. Binance itself agreed to pay a record $4.3 billion settlement to multiple U.S. regulatory agencies, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to resolve accusations of sanctions violations, operating an unlicensed money transmission business, and AML program shortcomings.​

Market Reaction And Potential U.S. Return

One retail trader on Stocktwits suggested that, given the news, it may be time to start buying more of BNB and ASTER.

According to the report, a pardon of CZ would likely open the door for Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, to return to the U.S., after the company pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating U.S. anti-money-laundering requirements and was barred from operating there.

Zhao was released from prison in September 2024 after serving four months, and Binance reportedly hired lobbyist Ches McDowell earlier this year to help secure the pardon.

Read also: Bitcoin On Track To Hit $110,00 After China Says Trade Talks With US Set For Friday

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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