BREAKING: Donald Trump Grants Presidential Pardon to Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao

In a stunning political maneuver that sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency world, former President Donald Trump has extended a presidential pardon to former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.

The Crypto World Reacts

Digital asset markets immediately responded to the news with volatile trading patterns. Bitcoin briefly surged 3.2% on the announcement before settling into consolidation patterns. Industry insiders described the move as "unprecedented" and "game-changing" for crypto regulation.

Regulatory Implications

The pardon effectively wipes clean Zhao's legal slate, allowing the former exchange chief to re-enter the cryptocurrency space without regulatory constraints. Legal experts suggest this could signal a broader shift in how digital assets will be treated under future administrations.

Market analysts note the timing coincides with growing institutional adoption—though traditional finance veterans still can't decide whether crypto is the future or just sophisticated gambling with better marketing.

This presidential intervention creates a new precedent for tech executives navigating the complex web of financial regulations while accelerating crypto's march toward mainstream legitimacy.

Who is CZ, And Why Was He Imprisoned?

Zhao used to be the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance. In October 2023, the U.S. filed charges against the company and CZ himself for violating the law on bank secrecy, organizing illegal business of money transfer and other articles. As a result, Binance and Zhao made an agreement with the authorities.

The court sentenced Zhao to four months in jail in Q1, 2024. He arrived at the prison on January 1, 2024. CZ also retained his position as CEO of Binance and a seat on the board of Binance.US.

He was released at the end of September of the same year. According to Zhao himself, he is now engaged in the educational project Giggle Academy and has no plans to return to the leadership of Binance.

More about his biography:

Rumors on Trump’s Pardon And His Decision

In March 2025, in the press appeared the information about the fact that the TRUMP family took part in negotiations about purchasing shares of Binance.US. Zhao was involved in the process and his motive was a possible pardon from the president.

CZ called it an attack on both Trump himself and the course of his administration on the legalization of crypto-assets. In two months, he filed an official request for pardon, explaining that the press is already discussing it.

Trump ratified this decision by decree on October 23, 2025. The Wall Street Journal was among the first to report about it, referring to WHITE House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. The latter confirmed the fact of the pardon, noting that Zhao, according to Trump, was a victim of “the Biden regime’s war against cryptocurrencies”.

Later, Trump repeated this thesis during a roundtable discussion of the Homeland Security Task Force dedicated to fight terrorism and malice. Responding to the press, the head of state said the following:

“I granted pardon to countless people. I don’t know him [Changpeng Zhao], but he was recommended to me by many good people. A lot of people think he’s innocent. […] You hardly know anything about cryptocurrency, all you know is fake news. I was told that what he did was not even a crime. Biden’s administration was investigating him”.

Unprompted, Zhao himself paid tribute to Trump:

“Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation and justice. Let’s do everything we can to help America become the capital of cryptocurrencies and spread Web3 around the world.”

In addition, in the opinion of the group, Trump may also pardon the convicted founder of the FTX exchange Sam Bankman-Fried, who received 25 years in prison. The hearing of the case for his appeal is scheduled for 4 November.

The probability of such a result on the Polymarket platform jumped to 13.4% at the moment, but then rebounded. Bankman-Fried said earlier that he WOULD like to be pardoned.

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