President Trump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao
Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has been pardoned by US President Donald Trump. Zhao, also known as “CZ”, was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws.
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Binance was ordered to pay $4.3bn (£3.4bn) after a US investigation found it helped users bypass sanctions. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called Zhao's prosecution under the Biden administration part of a “war on cryptocurrency”. She claimed Zhao had been targeted “despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victim”.
The move to pardon Zhao comes amid the Trump administration's adoption of a more friendly stance towards cryptocurrency. The President has vowed to make the US the “crypto capital” of the world and released his own coin shortly ahead of his inauguration in January.
