★ Government Action
Trump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao after BSA conviction
Crypto DeregulationTrump Crypto ConflictsTrump Pardons
Filed October 2025
★ The Brief
What happened
Zhao pleaded guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations for failing to prevent money laundering at Binance tied to terrorism, drug trafficking, and child sex abuse. He had served four months in federal prison.
Who enabled it
Who benefits
Deal or steal?
Trump's family runs World Liberty Financial, the issuer of the USD1 stablecoin. When MGX bought a $2 billion Binance stake using USD1, the matching cash sits in Trump-family-controlled reserves.
President Donald Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, on October 23, 2025. Zhao had pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to prevent criminals from using Binance to launder money connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking, terrorism, and sanctions violations — including transactions involving Hamas, al-Qaida, and Iran. He served four months in federal prison, becoming the first person ever sentenced to prison time for such violations. Trump stated Zhao had been recommended for a pardon by many people and characterized the prosecution as an overreach by the Biden administration. Zhao and Binance have been supporters of Trump family crypto enterprises, including World Liberty Financial. The White House counsel's office reviewed the pardon request before it was granted.
Actors
Who pushed it · 1Who initiated, paid, or pushed the action.
Donald TrumpSigned and announced the pardon of Changpeng Zhao, characterizing the original prosecution as an overreach by the Biden administration.
Beneficiaries
Who gained · 1Who stood to gain.
Changpeng ZhaoReceived a full pardon from President Trump, clearing his federal conviction for enabling money laundering at Binance; had previously served four months in federal prison.
Changpeng Zhao has paid into Trump’s orbit:
Further reading
- ★ Private ActionMay 2025UAE firm uses $2B Trump-Witkoff stablecoin for Binance stake
- ★ Government ActionMarch 2025Trump pardons BitMEX co-founders for Bank Secrecy Act violations
- ★ Government ActionDecember 2025Trump pardons Tina Peters, Colorado clerk in stop-the-steal case
- ★ Private ActionOctober 2025Truth Social launches prediction market with Crypto.com affiliate
- ★ Government ActionMay 2025Trump commutes donor Imaad Zuberi's foreign-lobbying sentence
- ★ Private ActionMay 2025Crypto blogger Christensen buys $TRUMP for dinner invite