Will the White House pardon for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has ignited a fresh fight over crypto enforcement?
US President Donald Trump has granted a full presidential pardon to Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, the founder and majority owner of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The White House confirmed the decision on October 23, and the US Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney has posted Zhao’s name on the official clemency roll dated October 21, 2025.
Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme at Binance. He paid a $50 million fine, served a four-month prison term in 2024, and stepped down as CEO as part of a wider $4.3 billion settlement that imposed a multi-year compliance monitorship on the exchange.
Those corporate obligations are unaffected by an individual pardon.
At a White House press briefing on October 23, press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the pardon as a routine use of presidential clemency after a “thorough” internal review. She argued that prosecutors in the prior administration had gone too far and linked the case to what she described as a broader hostility to digital assets.
“The president is exercising his constitutional authority to grant clemency requests… This was an overly prosecuted case by the Biden administration… the previous administration was very hostile to the cryptocurrency industry. The president wants to correct this overreach,” Leavitt said.
Pressed on whether the move could clear a path for Binance to resume operations in the US, Leavitt declined to comment and directed questions to Treasury and Commerce. She also reiterated that a presidential pardon affects an individual’s criminal exposure, not separate corporate settlements or regulatory obligations.
How it fits Trump’s broader crypto agenda
The pardon arrives after months of speculation about a petition from Zhao and scrutiny from lawmakers about potential conflicts of interest tied to Trump-linked crypto ventures.
Prior Senate correspondence had asked the White House and DOJ to detail any pardon requests from Zhao and any links between Binance and the Trump family’s digital-asset projects.
Since January 2025, the administration has taken a friendlier posture toward digital assets, with officials signalling support for industry growth while criticising what they describe as overreach by prior regulators. The Zhao pardon is the clearest single act to date in that direction, and it follows earlier clemency decisions involving crypto or fintech figures as well as rhetoric about ending a “war on crypto.”
A presidential pardon removes federal criminal liability for Zhao’s offence, but it does not unwind civil or regulatory settlements already in force against Binance, nor does it cancel monitorship terms.
Market participants will nonetheless likely read the decision as a signal of enforcement priorities and future rulemaking appetite under this White House.
Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Senate Banking Committee’s ranking member, said: “First, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to a criminal money-laundering charge. Then he boosted one of Donald Trump’s crypto ventures and lobbied for a pardon. Today, Donald Trump did his part and pardoned him.”
She urged Congress to address potential conflicts in pending market-structure legislation.
SEC ends civil case against Binance
The pardon follows a separate development earlier this year, when the US Securities and Exchange Commission dismissed its civil enforcement action against Binance and Zhao with prejudice on May 29, closing the case for good.
The SEC’s litigation release framed the move as a discretionary policy decision. Coverage at the time noted the dismissal aligned with a broader recalibration at the agency under new Chair Paul S. Atkins.
