Zhao Changpeng Receives Trump’s Pardon: What Does It Mean?
Written by: Tuo Luo Finance
Last week, a piece of news caused a stir in the industry.
On October 22, President Trump suddenly signed a pardon for CZ at the White House, which was disclosed to the public the next day. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt issued a statement saying, "The President is exercising his constitutional power to pardon Mr. CZ, who was prosecuted in the Biden administration's war against cryptocurrency. The Biden administration's war on cryptocurrency is over."
Although there were reports as early as March this year that Zhao Changpeng was applying for a pardon, the confirmation of this news still sparked a strong market reaction. With the pardon of the figure considered the most prominent in the Chinese cryptocurrency community, BNB surged, and BTC and ETH also saw rare upward movements, reigniting discussions about Binance's return to the U.S.
From paying hefty fines and serving time in prison to now being a guest of multiple national presidents, Zhao Changpeng's tumultuous journey has added another legendary story to the cryptocurrency world.
Fast forward to November 2023, Binance reached a resolution with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regarding investigations into Binance's historical registration, compliance, and sanctions issues.
Zhao Changpeng ultimately admitted to conducting unlicensed transfer operations, conspiracy charges, and prohibited trading under violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and the Commodity Exchange Act, and paid a staggering fine of $4.368 billion, setting a record for the largest fine in FinCEN's history.
At that time, the market sentiment largely viewed Zhao Changpeng, as the Chinese head of the world's largest exchange, as a victim of political persecution. There were indeed traces of persecution; Zhao Changpeng's initial expected sentence was 18 months, which was later extended to 3 years by the DOJ. However, after voluntarily pleading guilty and amidst the swirling public opinion, he was ultimately sentenced to 4 months in prison by a federal court in Seattle in April 2024. According to Zhao Changpeng, on the day of his imprisonment, he experienced a rather humiliating search, and his first cellmate was even a double murderer. This period of incarceration was described by him as "the hardest time of his life."
In September 2024, Zhao Changpeng was released from prison. However, it was clear that this prison experience brought him far more than just pain; on a deeper level, it made him realize that cryptocurrency knows no borders, but the law does. Even in the cryptocurrency industry, one must learn to survive in the cracks of politics. Meanwhile, as the leader of the largest cryptocurrency trading platform, his identity as a Chinese person seemed quite delicate for the U.S., carrying both political implications and the enduring stigma of "not one of us," even though Zhao Changpeng is a thorough Canadian by nationality. In this context, finding a good "big tree" to take shelter under became particularly important.
Perhaps for this reason, after his release in September, Zhao Changpeng frequently traveled to the UAE and Hong Kong, unusually meeting with major regulatory bodies to begin reconstructing his political identity. After the November elections, with Trump's ascension, the cryptocurrency landscape changed, and both Binance and Zhao Changpeng seemed to have found an opportunity.
In March 2025, Binance officially announced a $2 billion investment from the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund MGX, acquiring 5% of the shares. Given Binance's annual revenue exceeding $10 billion, this could only be described as "making a friend." More subtly, the settlement amount for this $2 billion transaction was USD1, which happened to be the stablecoin launched by Trump's family project WLFI. Shortly after, Zhao Changpeng posted a photo with WLFI co-founder Zach Witkoff on social media, and two weeks later, USD1 officially launched on the BNB Chain, receiving extensive promotion on the Binance chain.
In April, Zhao Changpeng formally submitted a presidential pardon application to the Trump administration. A turning point came in September when CZ changed his X account bio from "ex-@binance" to "@binance," leading to speculation about his return. Capital markets, always quick to react, saw U.S.-based compliant trading platforms Coinbase and Robinhood gradually open BNB trading on October 22, and mainstream finance no longer shied away from Binance, allowing BNB to successfully enter the U.S. financial market.
Finally, on October 23 of this year, Trump signed an executive pardon, overturning Zhao Changpeng's criminal conviction. A brief introduction to the pardon: the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787 granted the president the power to pardon criminals or reduce sentences under specific circumstances. Those pardoned no longer carry a federal criminal record, and penalties may be terminated or lifted. This power is confirmed in Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which states that the president has the authority to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. Therefore, theoretically, the scope of presidential pardon power is quite broad; as long as the individual has violated federal law (excluding those impeached by Congress), they can receive a pardon. To date, Trump has signed over 40 pardons, involving about 237 individuals, with Zhao Changpeng being one of them.
In terms of significance, since Zhao Changpeng had already completed his sentence and paid his fines, the pardon does not imply any actual reduction of penalties, nor does it mean that the previous fines can be reclaimed. This also determines that the symbolic significance of the pardon far outweighs its practical implications. Through the pardon, Zhao Changpeng's criminal record can be erased, allowing him to return to a clean slate and better pursue political and resource opportunities. In an interview with Caixin in September this year, Zhao Changpeng mentioned that he would invest more energy into the venture capital firm YZi Labs and had already been invited to serve as an official cryptocurrency industry advisor for multiple governments. A clean record clearly allows his potential political career to go further. Just three days ago, Zhao Changpeng participated in the second on-site meeting of the National Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Committee with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov.
On the other hand, the previous ruling stipulated that Zhao Changpeng could not participate in the management or decision-making activities of Binance for three years after his release, during which Binance had to be operated under the supervision of an independent compliance officer who reported directly to the U.S. Department of Justice. In other words, every move of Binance was under the watchful eye of the DOJ. Although compliance supervision cannot be exempted by the pardon, the first restriction on direct management participation is expected to be lifted, allowing Zhao Changpeng to potentially return to lead Binance again. In fact, given the current controversies surrounding Binance, the market's attitude towards the current CEO Richard Teng is hardly friendly. Furthermore, Binance is also expected to return to the U.S., opening the doors to liquidity in both directions, which would have a significant impact on the existing landscape of U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges.
For the industry, the return of the "big boss" is undoubtedly a positive development, not only reaffirming Trump's supportive stance towards the cryptocurrency industry but also boosting confidence in the sector. Following the news, BNB surged by 7%, climbing back above $1,100, and mainstream currencies also rose, with Bitcoin returning to $110,000 and Ethereum racing towards $4,000. The chain reaction quickly fermented, with MEME coins on Binance collectively rising in the short term; previously popular Binance Life surged from $0.23 to $0.28, an increase of over 20%. Additionally, companies listed with BNB as their treasury benefited, with BNB Network Company and Nano Labs both seeing gains. Even Trump's WLFI benefited significantly, successfully reaching $0.14, and WLFI treasury-listed company ALT5 Sigma also rose over 13% in 24 hours.
Of course, not everyone is pleased with everything; Trump's opponents are particularly dissatisfied. Looking back at the entire timeline, from frequent meetings with the UAE to the Abu Dhabi investment, from the co-photo with WLFI to stablecoin support, from applying for a pardon to successfully receiving it, it is evident that there is a subtle connection between Zhao Changpeng and the political sphere. In simple terms, it was by boarding Trump's big ship that Zhao Changpeng could return to a clean slate.
Interestingly, Trump responded to the reason for the pardon by saying, "I don't know him, but many people say he is innocent and has been persecuted by the Biden administration." It is unclear whether this statement is a superficial attempt to avoid risk; even if it is true, it only indicates that Zhao Changpeng is quite close to the president's circle, rather than being completely "unfamiliar" with Trump. Coincidentally, just after the pardon, Trump stated during a speech at the White House that due to a military pay gap caused by a government shutdown led by the Democrats, he had a "great friend whose name he wouldn't reveal" who generously sent a check for $130 million, which led to speculation in the market that this friend might be Zhao Changpeng. Some believe that it was a political donation that enabled Zhao Changpeng to receive the pardon.
The authenticity of the military pay is hard to discern, but the lobbying that has become a norm on Wall Street is undoubtedly real. Notable political media outlet Politico reported that, according to lobbying firm Checkmate Government Relations, Binance hired Ches McDowell, a friend of Trump's son Donald Trump Jr., at the end of September to lobby for financial policy issues and "administrative relief" at the White House and the Treasury, paying $450,000 for one month. Cryptocurrency lawyer Teresa Goody Guillén also indicated that she received a total of $290,000 in lobbying fees from Binance and Zhao Changpeng this year.
In fact, given Trump's business nature, it is clear that Zhao Changpeng's pardon inevitably involves a significant amount of financial and resource maneuvering. In response, political opponents quickly launched attacks against Trump, accusing him of ignoring laws and regulations, using the pardon as a blatant exchange of interests.
According to AXIOS, U.S. Senate Democrats are taking action to formally condemn Trump's decision to pardon Zhao Changpeng. Some Senate Republicans have criticized the pardon, while Democrats are attempting to leverage this to foster rare bipartisan cooperation to express opposition to the White House's decision. The Democrats' attacks on Trump are not new, and it is unlikely that this will create any significant impact.
Returning to the main topic, Zhao Changpeng's compliance journey, while temporarily at a pause, is far from over. Although he has received preferential treatment from the current administration, aligning with it also carries significant risks. The complex political life has only just begun, and this is also why overseas Chinese entrepreneurs must choose to "dance with the wind and fan with long sleeves."
After his release, Zhao Changpeng quickly expressed his gratitude to Trump, stating, "I will do my utmost to help the U.S. become the cryptocurrency capital and promote the development of Web3 globally."
The focus of his statement is on the U.S., which means Zhao Changpeng is well aware that regardless of the type of return, the greatest benefits must ultimately come from the U.S.
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