Binance Founder CZ Applies for Presidential Pardon from Donald Trump
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance, has applied for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump after serving a four-month sentence in U.S. federal prison. He disclosed this information on the Farohk Radio podcast, stating that his legal team submitted the application two weeks ago.
- Zhao's application follows media coverage from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal regarding potential pardons and business dealings with Trump family allies.
- He denied active negotiations involving Binance U.S. despite the reports.
- In April 2024, Zhao was sentenced after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance, which was the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume at that time.
- Alongside his prison term, he paid a $50 million fine, while Binance settled for $4.3 billion, marking one of the largest corporate settlements in U.S. history.
- Zhao was released in September 2023.
- Trump has previously pardoned other notable figures in the crypto space, such as Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.
- Zhao mentioned he is not invested in Trump's official memecoin TRUMP.
- He recently advised Kyrgyzstan on using BTC and BNB for a potential National Crypto Reserve.