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U.S. President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, the White House confirmed to Decrypt on Thursday, marking the latest clemency for the digital asset industry from the crypto-friendly administration.
Zhao, also known as “CZ,” resigned his position as Binance’s CEO in 2023 as part of a plea bargain that sent him to jail for four months in 2024 at a minimum security prison in Lompoc, California.
The crypto mogul had pleaded guilty to violating U.S. laws against money laundering at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The Wall Street Journal first reported news of the pardon.
“President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Levitt told Decrypt. “In their desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden Administration pursued Mr. Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims.”
“The Biden Administration sought to imprison Mr. Zhao for three years, a sentence so outside sentencing guidelines that even the Judge said he had never heard of this in his 30-year career,” she continued. “These actions by the Biden Administration severely damaged the United States’ reputation as a global leader in technology and innovation. The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over.”
Editor’s note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Additional reporting by Sander Lutz
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