The crypto hive is buzzing on pure caffeine: On October 23, 2025, United States President Donald Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, instantly erasing a 2023 conviction that had frozen the exchange’s American ambitions for years.
CZ had served just four months in a low-security federal facility for weak anti-money-laundering controls, walked free in September 2024, and now—with the legal cloud fully lifted—Binance is aggressively plotting a full-throated U.S. comeback. Mergers, acquisitions, or a straight relaunch of the global platform for U.S. users are all on the table. This isn’t merely one billionaire’s victory lap; it’s the death knell of former President Joe Biden’s “war on crypto” and Trump’s opening bell for America as the planet’s undisputed digital-asset trading floor.
CZ first floated the pardon idea in May 2025, riding the momentum of Trump’s campaign pivot toward crypto-friendly policies. Binance already moves ~50% of the global BTC volume but has been hindered in the U.S. since 2019, when regulators forced the establishment of a separate Binance.US entity that has yet to capture even 1% of the domestic market share. The 2023 settlement cost a staggering $4.3 billion, booted CZ as CEO, yet left him with majority ownership and an estimated $85 billion fortune. Trump’s clemency, labeled a fix for “heavy-handed” Biden-era tactics with “zero fraud or victims,” effectively unlocks the gates and removes the last legal barrier to full U.S. re-entry.
Bloomberg reports three distinct paths forward:
- Merge Binance.US into the global beast—offering more coins, deeper products, and seamless liquidity.
- Let the main platform serve Americans directly, torching the old regulatory firewalls that kept U.S. users in a walled garden.
- Hand CZ the reins again; his X post vows to “make America the Crypto Capital” and signals a return to hands-on leadership.
A Binance spokesperson hailed Trump’s “visionary leadership.” BNB spiked 3–8% in minutes on listing hopes alone. Lower fees, wider on-ramps, and instant access to thousands of pairs could follow overnight, transforming the competitive landscape.
World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the Trump clan’s flagship crypto venture, banked $4.5 billion post-election and scored a $2 billion check from Abu Dhabi’s MGX—paid in Binance-backed USD1 stablecoin. Senator Elizabeth Warren branded it “corruption on stilts,” filing a Senate resolution with Adam Schiff to investigate potential conflicts. She highlighted Binance’s hiring of Trump Jr.’s close friend, Charles McDowell, as a lobbyist. Even MAGA firebrand Laura Loomer balked at CZ’s United Arab Emirates passport and ties to a Middle Eastern capital.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt countered firmly: “Fairness, not favors—this is about leveling the playing field for American innovation.”
Trump’s second term is shaping up as a get-out-of-jail-free festival for crypto figures:
- Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, freed after a decade behind bars.
- BitMEX executives were released from lingering charges.
All pardoned, while Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) slammed FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried with 25 years. Polymarket now pegs Binance’s U.S. relaunch at $2 billion in weekly volume—rocket fuel for BTC liquidity, altcoin flows, and on-chain activity across the board.
The return promises immediate benefits:
- Cheaper on-ramps with near-zero fees for fiat-to-crypto conversions.
- 1,000+ new trading pairs unavailable on the legacy Binance.US platform.
- Green light for institutional cash from BlackRock (NASDAQ: BLK), Fidelity, and other Wall Street giants.
- BNB Chain decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols set to explode stateside with native U.S. user integration.
Yet risks remain. 2023 probes tied Binance wallets to Hamas financing and child-exploitation sites, raising national-security red flags. Warren’s sweeping bill could still choke stablecoins, centralized exchanges, and DeFi protocols alike. CZ’s upcoming book may name lobbyist names, drop receipts, and reignite political firestorms just as the industry celebrates.
Crypto’s $4.5 billion in 2024 donations, funneled through PACs, super PACs, and direct contributions, flipped the script from regulatory handcuffs to a red-carpet welcome. For retail traders, Binance’s return means rock-bottom BTC swaps, one-click yield farming, and instant access to global liquidity pools. X threads split clean down the middle: bulls chant victory, bears howl about systemic risk and moral hazard.
In this wild November, with BTC hovering around $105,000, Fed rate cuts looming, and memecoin mania in full swing, CZ’s pardon is more than personal vindication. It’s the spark for America’s crypto supremacy, or a scandal fuse waiting to detonate. Either way, the exchange wars are reloaded, and Binance just racked the slide with a full magazine.
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Source: https://coingeek.com/trump-cz-pardon-spurs-binance-us-comeback-crypto-truce/