Trump Pardons Binance Founder, Lifts U.S. Restrictions

President Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who had pleaded guilty in 2023 to willful anti–money‑laundering violations as part of a $4.3 billion settlement, resigned from Binance, and served a four‑month sentence. In a Nov. 2, 2025 60 Minutes interview Trump said he did not know Zhao, called the prosecution a “Biden witch hunt,” and defended making the U.S. a crypto industry leader. The pardon removes prior restrictions that had barred Zhao from running U.S. financial ventures, though its effect on regulatory oversight remains unclear. Critics pointed to Binance’s role in facilitating roughly $2 billion tied to the Trump‑family crypto venture World Liberty Financial and said the timing and financial overlap create the appearance of pay‑for‑play and potential foreign influence, prompting calls for investigations. The White House said the clemency corrected prosecutorial overreach, and Binance CEO Richard Teng called the pardon good news while urging clearer regulation and disputing mischaracterizations of the case.