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U.S. President Donald Trump has given Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the billionaire co-founder and former CEO of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, a full and unconditional pardon. This is a shocking mix of political power and cryptocurrency influence. The ruling, which was made public on October 23, 2025, is still having an effect on global markets.
It clears Zhao of his 2023 guilty plea to anti-money laundering crimes, his four-month prison sentence, and a $50 million personal fine. It also frees Binance from further DOJ inspection.
Trump said at a news conference at the White House that “many good people” had told him to do something and that the Biden administration was “persecuting” Zhao even though there was “no real crime or victims.” This high-profile clemency, which came at a time when Trump was pushing for crypto and his family was starting businesses like World Liberty Financial, has caused the industry to applaud and critics like Sen. Elizabeth Warren to call it “corruption in plain sight.”
As BNB rises 5% to $1,137—16% from its all-time high of $1,370—the pardon not only frees CZ but also marks a huge change in U.S. policy that might lead to billions of dollars in new ideas while raising ethical concerns in the $4 trillion crypto space.
From pleading guilty to AML to going to jail and beyond
In November 2023, Changpeng Zhao’s legal troubles began when he admitted to breaching the Bank Secrecy Act by knowingly failing to keep an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) program at Binance. Prosecutors said that the exchange moved $2.1 billion in illegal money from groups including Hamas, Al-Qaeda, and sites that exploit children, all while defying U.S. sanctions and avoiding taxes. Zhao stepped down as CEO, paid his $50 million fine, and went to FCI Lompoc prison in April 2024 as part of a $4.3 billion corporate settlement, the biggest in crypto history. He served four months before being released in September.
The plea came after a multiyear DOJ investigation found that Binance’s KYC was too loose and that Zhao personally ignored compliance warnings. But supporters said it went too far because no fraud victims were found and Binance’s worldwide scale (275 million users and $1 trillion in monthly turnover) made full U.S. compliance impossible. Zhao, who came to Canada from China, said he was innocent on X and promised to “advance web3 worldwide” if he got out. His push for a pardon grew stronger in May 2025, when Binance accepted Trump’s family stablecoin USD1 in a $2 billion deal in Abu Dhabi. This led to rumors of a conflict of interest.
Trump’s order on October 23, his 15th pardon since January, clears Zhao’s conviction and makes it possible for Binance to do business in the U.S. again. Growth in the US. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was the end of “Biden’s war on crypto.” Zhao tweeted his thanks, saying, “Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.” We will do everything we can to assist America become the Capital of Crypto and move web3 forward around the world. The post got 100,000 likes and was seen 5 million times. It also caused BNB to rise 5% to $1,137, according to CoinMarketCap.
The White House and Trump’s Reasoning: “Persecution” or Politics?
Trump said he didn’t know Zhao personally at a press conference in the Rose Garden with crypto allies including Vivek Ramaswamy. “I don’t know him personally—never met the man—but I got told he has a lot of support.
They said that what he did wasn’t against the law. The Biden administration was looking for him. He compared it to his January 2025 pardon of Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, saying that both were “innocence under siege” by “woke regulators.”
Leavitt amplified: “The Biden administration’s fight on crypto is done. Zhao was charged even though there were no claims of fraud or known victims.
In the crypto world, this story makes sense because Binance’s $4.3 billion punishment seems too high compared to JPMorgan’s $920 million AML settlement in 2020.
But the optics are tricky: The Wall Street Journal reported that Binance helped code World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin, which processed $2 billion from Abu Dhabi’s MGX Investments in May 2025. Of that, 90% ($1.8 billion) was kept in Binance wallets, which earned millions in interest for Trump businesses.
Zhao denied any quid pro quo, but he did praise the shared “Bitcoin strategic reserve” ambitions. Warren shot out, “First, CZ admitted to money laundering. After that, he pushed Trump to invest in cryptocurrencies and asked for a pardon. Trump forgave him today. This lawlessness is Congress’s fault. Her statement, which has been seen a million times, calls for ethics guardrails in crypto legislation that is still being worked on.
World Liberty Financial’s Binance Boost
The pardon comes at the same time as Binance’s important support for World Liberty Financial (WLF), the crypto business of the Trump kids. Binance launched and programmed smart contracts for WLF’s USD1 stablecoin in May 2025. This led to a $2 billion MGX injection, with 90% of it held in Binance custody, which earns tens of millions of dollars in interest every year for companies connected to Trump. Zhao’s revelation on his May podcast that he tried to get people to forgive him after he listed the company sparked suspicions of corruption, but Binance says it’s just “standard innovation support.”
WLF, which is worth $1.5 billion, has grown quickly. By October, the circulation of USD1 had reached $2.1 billion, thanks to Binance’s 275 million users. The pardon could speed things up for Binance. US relaunch, maybe adding WLF coins and making Trump’s “crypto capital” ambition bigger. “Justice served—CZ’s freedom speeds up America’s blockchain lead,” tweeted Ramaswamy, a WLF advisor. Loomer and others criticize Zhao’s ties to the UAE, but Trump said, “He’s a genius; Biden’s DOJ was the real crime.”
Changes in the market and in crypto policy as a whole
The announcement made BNB jump 5% to $1,137, which is still 16% less than its all-time high of $1,370. The crypto market cap also went up 2% to $4.1 trillion, while sentiment indicators reached “greed” levels (74/100). Solana (+3%) and ETH (+2.5%) came next, as traders bet that regulations would loosen up. Polymarket odds for a “crypto bill by 2026” went up to 85%, showing that people are hopeful that the FIT21 Act will pass in the Senate.
This pardon coincides with Trump’s shift to crypto: the release of Ulbricht in January, the GENIUS Act for stablecoins in July, and the SEC’s easing of ETF listings in September. According to Leavitt, the government’s “war on crypto is over.” Galaxy Digital says that this may lead to $500 billion in institutional flows by 2027, as obstacles collapse for offshore exchanges like Binance. The US. But Warren’s demand for ethics rules in FIT21 might lead to vetoes if there are still problems between the Trump family.
Conclusion
Trump’s pardon of CZ on October 23, 2025, which got rid of a $50 million fine and a 2023 AML conviction, marks a new beginning for Binance and U.S. crypto policy. Zhao promises to make America the “Capital of Crypto.” It is linked to World Liberty Financial’s $2 billion stablecoin deal, which Warren calls corrupt but the market sees as a good indication, sending BNB up 5% to $1,137 and signifying billions in inflows. It’s a win for the business after Biden-era crackdowns, and a demand for ethics safeguards for regulators. As CZ comes back, stronger than ever, the $4T crypto space gets ready for things to speed up—new ideas will flow, but there will also be tests of accountability.
