Trump unconditionally pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao

US President Trump has unconditionally pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. This is the latest move taken by Trump to boost the crypto industry and clear its bad reputation.

According to reports from Reuters and Bloomberg, the White House confirmed on Thursday (October 23) that Trump signed the pardon order for Zhao Changpeng.

Zhao Changpeng, nicknamed "CZ", is a billionaire and one of the most influential figures in the cryptocurrency field. In 2023, Binance admitted to failing to implement effective anti-money laundering procedures. After pleading guilty, it paid a fine of 4.3 billion US dollars and resigned as the CEO of Binance.

Trump told reporters on the same day that Zhao Changpeng was "persecuted" by the Biden administration.

Trump said he believed he probably had never met Zhao Changpeng. Many people said he had committed no crime at all. At the request of many kind-hearted people, I pardoned him.

White House Press Secretary Levitt said in a statement that Trump's predecessor, Biden, was "very hostile" to the cryptocurrency industry.

In April 2024, Zhao Changpeng was sentenced to four months in prison for violating the US anti-money laundering law and was released in September of the same year.

Since Trump returned to the White House in January, his family has reaped millions of dollars from various cryptocurrency investments, drawing criticism from political opponents, professionals and ethical figures who claim there might be conflicts of interest. The White House denied the accusations. Levitt said Thursday that the Trump administration had carefully reviewed all pardons.