US President Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of the giant Binance cryptocurrency exchange, who was convicted of violating the United States’ money-laundering laws.
In a statement on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had “exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency”.
Zhao said in a post on social media platform X that he was “deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.” He added: “Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto.”
Zhao, a billionaire who is one of the most influential figures in the crypto sector, in 2023 stepped down as chief of Binance after the company pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme and paid a penalty of $4.3m.
Zhao, a citizen of Canada who was born in China, was released from prison last year after receiving a four-month sentence for violating the Bank Secrecy Act.
He was the first person ever sentenced to prison time for such violations of that law, which requires US financial institutions to know who their customers are, to monitor transactions, and to file reports of suspicious activity. Prosecutors said no one had ever violated the regulations to the extent that Zhao did.
The US Constitution gives the president broad power to issue pardons to wipe away federal criminal convictions, or commutations to modify sentences. Historically, presidents have largely waited until the end of their terms to use such powers, but there is no requirement that they do so.
Zhao told a podcaster in May that he had applied for a pardon from the Trump administration, adding that he had never spoken to the president.
Zhao’s pardon is the latest in a series that Trump has given to crypto executives and entrepreneurs, as well as others convicted of white-collar crimes.
While the details of the pardon have yet to be disclosed, it could pave the way for Zhao to return to the business he co-founded in 2017. It may also offer the chance for Binance to expand in the US as the crypto industry booms under the Trump administration.
The Republican president in 2024 garnered support from the crypto sector for his second term as president by promising to reverse the policies of former President Joe Biden, whose administration targeted crypto companies for fraud and illicit finance violations.
In March, Trump also pardoned the three co-founders of crypto exchange BitMEX who had pled guilty in 2022 for failing to implement a Bank Secrecy Act-compliant anti-money laundering programme.
He has also pardoned the founder of electric truck company Nikola, who was convicted of fraud, and commuted the sentence of the executive of the now-defunct startup Ozy Media.
In January, Trump also pardoned Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison for running the underground online marketplace Silk Road but remained a popular figure within the crypto community.
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