- President Donald Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao on Oct. 23 after Zhao had served four months in prison for violating US banking laws.
- Trump claimed he didn’t know who Zhao was but characterised him as a “respected entrepreneur” whose pardon aligned with the goal of US competitiveness in digital assets.
- The pardon intensified scrutiny over links between the Trump family and Binance, including reports that Binance engineers helped build infrastructure for the Trump-family affiliated stablecoin, USD1.
US President Donald Trump said he pardoned Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao despite not knowing who he is, he said during a 60 Minutes interview that aired over the weekend. And it might make sense with all things considered. In 10 months of presidency, Trump has granted over 1500 pardons, including one for Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.
CZ pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating US banking laws and served four months in prison. Authorities have claimed that under his leadership, Binance failed to block criminals, sanctioned entities, and other actors from moving illicit funds, including groups designated as terrorists.
Trump granted CZ a pardon on Oct. 23, effectively ending the speculation over his legal fate. That also means all of Zhao’s legal burdens are lifted and penalties are released, but it does not mean his criminal record is gone.
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Trump Family and Its Ties With Binance
Despite Trump alleging he doesn’t know who CZ is, the president characterised Zhao as a respected entrepreneur and said the pardon aligned with his goal to keep the United States competitive in digital assets. He linked that aim to broader technology leadership, comparing it to US ambitions in artificial intelligence (AI).
The pardon, however, fueled the growing scrutiny of links between Trump-family ventures and Binance. For instance, the Wall Street Journal reported that Binance engineers helped build parts of the infrastructure behind USD1, the stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, co-founded by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., with the president listed as co-founder emeritus.
Separately, UAE fund MGX invested US$2 billion (AU$3.10 billion) in Binance earlier this year, with the transaction reportedly settled in USD1, as Crypto News Australia reported.
The links between the two have been called out by Democratic lawmakers, including Maxine Waters, Christopher Murphy, and Bernie Sanders, who flagged the connections since the pardon.
Most notably, Sen. Elizabeth Warren posted on X that Zhao “financed President Trump’s stablecoin and lobbied for a pardon.” Zhao’s counsel at BakerHostetler demanded a retraction and even threatened to sue the Senator, according to the New York Post, calling the statement false and defamatory.
But Warren’s lawyer responded by saying: “Simply put, any threatened defamation claim would be without merit”.
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