President Trump Pardons Binance Founder CZ After Political Pressure

Jimmy Aki
Last Updated:

Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.

President Donald Trump granted a full pardon to Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao on October 23, sparking debate over whether the move was a matter of justice or politics. CZ was convicted of violating U.S. banking laws and sentenced to four months in prison. He had admitted to one count related to Binance’s failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.

Supporters Say CZ Was Targeted by Biden’s Administration

During a press conference aired on YouTube, Trump said he had never met CZ but was convinced the case was politically motivated.

He explained that he was told the Binance founder faced political persecution, not justice, under the Biden Administration.

Trump’s statements stem from a long list of attacks on the crypto industries by the previous administration.

Under Biden’s leadership, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by Gary Gensler, turned regulation into punishment.

Crypto industry followers argued that the Biden Administration used regulation to pressure the sector, pointing to enforcement actions against Binance, Ripple, and Uniswap as examples of politics overshadowing fairness.

Supporters saw CZ’s prosecution as part of the same pattern, an effort to weaken Binance and slow innovation in digital finance.

Before the pardon, CZ had already served part of his sentence after paying a $50 million fine. Binance itself paid $4.3 billion in penalties to settle compliance issues linked to banking and anti-money laundering rules.

Hours after the announcement, CZ’s crypto attorney, Teresa Goody Guillén, defended the move.

In an X post, she explained that her client’s conviction was for a single compliance failure. It was not fraud, theft, or money laundering.

Guillén stated that CZ had no prior criminal history or victims. She added that he was the first known first-time offender in U.S. history to serve prison time for such a non-fraud charge.

https://twitter.com/teresagoody/status/1981446718123282706

Following the decision, CZ expressed deep gratitude on X. He said he would continue working to strengthen U.S. leadership in blockchain and web3. He also promised that Binance would play a key role in helping the country grow as a centre for digital finance and innovation.

Warren Questions Motives Behind the Pardon

Senator Elizabeth Warren sharply criticised Trump’s action, calling it “political favouritism for the wealthy.”

She accused CZ of financing Trump’s stablecoin project, Trump USD1, issued through World Liberty Financial, and argued that the pardon revealed deep conflicts of interest.

Her comments revived public scrutiny of CZ’s past dealings and reignited political tension around crypto regulation.

However, supporters clarified that CZ’s conviction was not for money laundering or fraud but for a single compliance oversight.

They described Warren’s remarks as another example of Washington’s lack of understanding of crypto’s evolving structure.

While CZ denied funding Trump’s stablecoin venture, a Bloomberg report claimed Binance supplied the technology for the token’s smart contract, which later became part of a $2 billion transaction involving a UAE-based investor.

CZ dismissed the report as a coordinated attempt to damage Binance’s credibility.

Public interest in the Binance founder has only grown since the pardon. On Polymarket, activity around the live poll titled Will CZ return to Binance by December 31 spiked soon after Trump’s announcement.

The odds of his comeback climbed to 82%, showing that many investors still have confidence in his leadership.

For a large part of the crypto community, Trump’s move feels like a stand for digital freedom and a vote of faith in CZ’s record.

About Jimmy Aki PRO INVESTOR

Based in the UK, Jimmy is an economic researcher with outstanding hands-on and heads-on experience in Macroeconomic finance analysis, forecasting and planning. He has honed his skills having worked cross-continental as a finance analyst, which gives him inter-cultural experience. He currently has a strong passion for regulation and macroeconomic trends as it allows him peek under the global bonnet to see how the world works.