Trump Pardons Binance Founder, Lifts Restrictions

On Oct. 23, 2025, President Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who had pleaded guilty in 2023 to willful anti‑money‑laundering violations as part of a $4.3 billion settlement, resigned, paid fines and served about four months in prison. Prosecutors said Zhao’s conduct caused “significant harm” to U.S. national security, and the pardon lifts prior U.S. restrictions that had barred him from running American financial ventures. The clemency provoked bipartisan outrage amid allegations that Binance facilitated transactions tied to the Trump‑family crypto venture World Liberty Financial and helped enable a reported $2 billion deal, prompting calls for investigations. In a CBS 60 Minutes segment, Trump said he did not know Zhao, defended the pardon as part of promoting U.S. crypto competitiveness and called the prosecution a “Biden witch hunt”; only 28 minutes of the interview aired while a longer 73‑minute version and a full transcript were posted online, intensifying scrutiny. The White House defended the clemency as correcting prosecutorial overreach and denied conflicts of interest. Binance CEO Richard Teng welcomed the pardon and said the circumstances had been mischaracterized even as watchdogs and lawmakers continue to demand probes.