Donald Trump Pardons Convicted Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao
President Donald Trump Pardons Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao
Published
It looks like President Donald Trump's feeling pretty generous these days ... because he just pardoned Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao.
Zhao, a Chinese-born Canadian man who founded cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance in 2017, pled guilty to enabling money laundering in 2023, according to NBC News.
He was sent to prison in April 2024 -- and he only spent four months behind bars before he was released.
The United States reportedly ordered Binance to pay more than $4 billion in fines and forfeiture, while Zhao -- one of the richest men in the world -- was hit with a bill of $50 million.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement about Zhao's release, blaming his arrest squarely on former President Joe Biden's administration.
Leavitt also quipped Zhao's pardon was a loud-and-clear signal about the former administration's "War on Crypto" being over.
It's worth noting Trump let former N.Y. Congressman George Santos off the hook and commuted his sentence last week ... and it'll be interesting to see who he's feeling generous about next.
