WASHINGTON, 24 October (H.S.): U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday granted a full pardon to Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, in a move the White House described as correcting an injustice from a war on cryptocurrency.

The decision immediately ignited a firestorm of criticism, with opponents pointing to the Trump family’s own deepening financial ties to the crypto industry as a potential conflict of interest.

Zhao, also known as CZ, pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws. He was sentenced in April 2024 and completed a four-month prison term in September 2024. His company, Binance, was ordered to pay a colossal $4.3 billion fine after a U.S. investigation found it had wilful failures that allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers by helping users bypass sanctions.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the pardon, stating Zhao’s case was an overly prosecuted part of the Biden administration’s campaign against the crypto industry.

In a statement on social media, Zhao expressed his gratitude to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.However, the pardon has been sharply condemned as a kind of corruption by critics like Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren.

The move comes amid reports of business dealings between Zhao-affiliated companies and firms linked to the Trump family, including Dominari Holdings, where the president’s sons serve as advisors. This pardon is the latest in a series granted by Trump to figures in the crypto world, including the founders of the BitMEX exchange and Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace. The decision clears legal hurdles for Zhao, potentially allowing him to return to a leadership role in the company he founded.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar