 
 
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance, is closer to receiving a presidential pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump amid ongoing White House discussions.
A presidential pardon can clear his U.S. felony record and allow him to potentially resume a managing or operating role at Binance — something that was off the table since CZ pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge in November 2023. Could the move also boost the chances for Binance to break into the U.S. market?
Trump To Pardon CZ’s Money Laundering Conviction?
Roughly a year after serving a four-month sentence in a U.S. federal prison, discussions within the White House regarding the possibility of President Trump forgiving Binance’s Zhao are advancing.
“People close to CZ, the former Binance chief … say discussions inside the White House are heating up on the possibility of a pardon from Donald Trump,” Fox Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino wrote in a Friday post on X.
According to Gasparino, several Trump insiders believe the case lodged against Zhao under the previous administration’s crypto crackdown was weak and did not merit felony charges or prison time. These insiders believe Trump is “leaning toward a pardon,” which could pave the way for CZ’s return to Binance since he remains the crypto exchange’s largest shareholder.
 
However, he added that the Trump administration is concerned about the “optics” of a presidential pardon due to the president’s deep involvement in the crypto industry.
Zhao responded to the post, thanking Gasparino “for the coverage” but clarifying that there were no “fraud charges.”
Notably, he was sentenced in April 2024 after pleading guilty to a “single violation of Banking Secrecy Act (BSA).”
Alongside his prison term, Zhao paid a $50 million fine. Binance itself parted with a whopping $4.3 billion in what became one of the biggest corporate settlements in U.S. history. He became a free man in September last year.
Trump has already pardoned other high-profile figures in the crypto space. These include Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and BitMEX’s co-founders, as his administration adopted a more collaborative approach.
In May, CZ confirmed on a podcast that he had formally applied for clemency from Trump. He had refuted March coverage from the Wall Street Journal that claimed he was seeking a pardon while engaging in crypto business deals involving the Trump family.