U.S. President Donald Trump has granted a pardon to Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally. Zhao had previously served time in prison for not preventing criminals from using the platform for illicit activities related to child exploitation, drug trafficking, and terrorism.
Having close connections to World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture initiated by Trump and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. in September, Zhao had requested the pardon from Trump. Trump’s financial disclosure report for the previous year revealed earnings exceeding $57 million from World Liberty Financial, which introduced USD1, a stablecoin pegged at a 1-to-1 ratio to the U.S. dollar.
Additionally, World Liberty Financial disclosed that a UAE investment fund would utilize $2 billion worth of USD1 to acquire a stake in Binance. Zhao had openly stated his request for a pardon to nullify his conviction.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, mentioned on Thursday that the Biden administration’s prosecution of Zhao aimed to penalize the cryptocurrency sector. She clarified that there were no allegations of fraud or specific victims, despite Zhao’s guilty plea in November for failing to uphold an anti-money-laundering program.
During his court appearance last year, Zhao admitted his failure, expressing deep regret and apologizing for the oversight.