Trump pardons convicted Binance founder ‘CZ’ Zhao

US President Donald Trump has pardoned Mr Zhao Changpeng, the convicted founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, the White House said on Oct 23, in the latest move by Mr Trump to boost the crypto industry and expunge its past misdeeds.

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Mr Zhao, a billionaire known as “CZ” who is one of the most influential figures in crypto, quit in 2023 as Binance chief after the company pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme and paid a penalty of US$4.3 billion (S$5.6 billion).

Mr Zhao was prosecuted by the Biden administration “in their war on cryptocurrency”, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

Since he returned to office, Mr Trump’s family has reaped millions of dollars from a variety of crypto ventures — moves criticised by political rivals and ethics experts, citing the potential for conflicts of interest.

The White House has denied those claims and on Oct 23, Ms Leavitt said it carefully examined all pardons.

In a post on social media platform X, Mr Zhao said 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.”

The US authorities said in 2023 that Binance had failed to report suspicious transactions with organisations including Hamas and Al-Qaeda and with websites dedicated to selling child sexual abuse materials.