President Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, the White House said Thursday.
Zhao, who previously served as CEO of Binance, pleaded guilty to charges in 2023 for violating anti-money laundering laws. He was sentenced to four months in prison.
“President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
“In their desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden Administration pursued Mr. Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims,” she continued. “The Biden Administration sought to imprison Mr. Zhao for three years, a sentence so outside Sentencing Guidelines that the even the Judge said he had never heard of this in his 30-year career.”
“These actions by the Biden Administration severely damaged the United States’ reputation as a global leader in technology and innovation,” Leavitt added. “The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over.”
Zhao stepped down as CEO of Binance following his guilty plea. The exchange also paid more than $4 billion to settle the case with the Justice Department. He served out his prison sentence and was released from U.S. custody last September.
The Binance founder has reportedly been pressing the White House for a pardon in recent months, as the crypto industry has found a key ally in Trump and his administration.
The crypto exchange has also engaged with the president’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial. In May, the Emirati firm MGX invested $2 billion in Binance using World Liberty Financial’s stablecoins.
Updated 12:10 p.m. EDT
