Trump's pardon of CZ is a gift to the crypto industry, which has spent heavily to ease regulations and rewrite history to remove associations with criminality

The move by Trump comes as his family works to profit from coins.

Bloomberg 2025-10-24 Max Chafkin

Context & Ripple Effects

The pardon follows coverage of Zhao’s efforts to secure clemency amid reported discussions involving the Trump family and Binance US, and reporting that he had sought a pardon while facing money-laundering charges. It also follows Trump’s pardons of BitMEX founders, making Zhao’s case part of a broader pattern rather than an isolated event.

The story matters because it connects an individual clemency decision to crypto’s continuing effort to narrow its legitimacy gap. Later reporting described Binance’s support for World Liberty Financial before the pardon, sharpening scrutiny of the overlap between crypto business interests and political access.

First-order effects

Zhao’s pardon removes the immediate legal stigma attached to Binance’s founder and supplies the industry with a prominent example of rehabilitation at the presidential level.
Crypto companies seeking lighter-touch treatment gain a politically salient validation point, while the Trump family’s crypto-related commercial interests face more intense conflict-of-interest scrutiny.

Second-order effects

Rivals and industry advocates can point to the pardon when arguing that past enforcement cases should not define the sector; critics can use the same episode to challenge the credibility of that rehabilitation campaign.
The reported Binance support for World Liberty Financial raises the stakes for disclosures and oversight around crypto ventures connected to political figures, rather than leaving the issue confined to one founder’s case.

Third-order effects

If clemency and commercial ties increasingly intersect with crypto policy, the sector’s legitimacy campaign may depend less on compliance records alone and more on political alignment—potentially deepening distrust among regulators and the public.
The episode reinforces a structural divide in crypto: firms with access to political networks may be better positioned to shape the narrative around enforcement, while the industry’s criminality associations remain contested.

The trend: Crypto’s push for mainstream legitimacy is increasingly being fought through political access, regulatory reframing, and the treatment of high-profile enforcement cases.

Discussion

r/CryptoCurrency r on reddit
Congresswoman Maxine Waters Blasts Trump Pardon of Crypto Criminal
@cz_binance @cz_binance on x
Deeply grateful for today's pardon and to President Trump for upholding America's commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice. 🙏🙏🙏🙏 Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance web3 worldwide. (Still in flight, more posts to come.)
@jchervinsky Jake Chervinsky on x
I will be truly shocked if SBF gets a pardon. SBF and CZ are not comparable at all. SBF was a Democratic mega-donor before FTX collapsed and he went to prison bankrupt. His name is half punch line half curse word in DC. Not a single serious person wants this. Do not pardon SBF
@senwarren Elizabeth Warren on x
CZ pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge and was sentenced to prison. But then he financed President Trump's stablecoin and lobbied for a pardon. Today, he got it. If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption, it owns it. [image]
@cz_binance @cz_binance on x
A US Senator can't get her facts right, in a public post about a person's charge. There were NO money laundering changes. The same Senator declared “war on crypto”, on public TV, 5 days before my sentencing, during the Biden Admin. Need a better example of weaponization of [image…
@teresagoody Teresa Goody Guillén on x
Facts Matter: @cz_binance was rightfully pardoned by @POTUS for a single charge of failure to have an effective compliance program. NO fraud, NO victims, NO criminal history. NO money laundering. CZ is the first and only known first-time offender in U.S. history to receive a
@adamscochran Adam Cochran on x
This is DISGUSTING - even for Trump. CZ admitted to sanctions violations. He had knowingly allowed groups like Hamas and Wagner to use Binance. CZ then: -Had Binance partner with Trump's World Liberty Fi on their new stablecoin -Partnered with Dominari Holdings (which [image]
@jtlonsdale Joe Lonsdale on x
I love President Trump; this is possibly the greatest admin of my lifetime - except for these pardons. If I'm calling balls and strikes, these are hit-by-pitches!! POTUS has been terribly advised on this; it makes it look like massive fraud is happening around him in this area.
@peterschiff Peter Schiff on x
@cz_binance Congratulations on your pardon. Let's celebrate with a Bitcoin versus tokenized gold debate.
@iohk_charles Charles Hoskinson on x
Congratulations to my friend @cz_binance. Trump has corrected a grave injustice. The weaponization of the justice department against our industry and its entrepreneurs should have never happened. It was and still is a deep wound that will take a long time to heal
@coffeebreak_yt Coffeezilla on x
Backstory to CZ's pardon Nov 2023 Binance and CZ plead guilty, $4B+ fine Mar 2025 Trump WLFI launches stablecoin USD1 Mar 2025 $2B investment into Binance by MGX May 2025 $2B investment was paid for in USD1 May 2025 CZ admits he applied for a pardon Oct 2025 CZ gets a pardon
@sencortezmasto Senator Cortez Masto on x
Naked corruption is par for the course for this President, yet it's still shocking. Changpeng Zhao deliberately ignored terrorists like Hamas and Al Qaeda who used his platform to fund their operations. He belongs in jail, but Donald Trump doesn't care as long as he can make a
@jessicatarlov Jessica Tarlov on x
Corruption in broad daylight
@powerfultakes Anatoly Karlin on x
I'm not a fan of CZ's influence on the crypto space, but the money laundering charges against him were a total fraud. By those standards, most CEXes and virtually all decentralized protocols without KYC are also criminal enterprises. Good on Trump for the pardon.
@cz_binance @cz_binance on x
The “most desperate time” to not have internet for a few hours... 😆 Thank you for all the congratulatory messages. Will take some time to get through them all. But much appreciated. 🙏
@asfleischman Andrew Fleischman on x
It was probably a mistake for the Supreme Court to legalize selling pardons.
@calvinelcheng @calvinelcheng on x
I am glad @cz_binance has been pardoned by @realDonaldTrump for this. Was in court with CZ in Seattle when the judge sentenced him to jail time. I remember him saying that whilst he respected precedence , he didn't need to follow it. He broke precedence to jail CZ. CZ was the
@scottmelker @scottmelker on x
Shame on you, Senator. @cz_binance did not plead guilty to money laundering. He plead guilty for causing Binance to violate the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) by failing to implement an effective anti-money-laundering program. Ocean of difference between the two.
@aj_beaupre Andrew Beaupre on x
@JTLonsdale For me the first eye opener was Trevor Milton. That conviction was totally justified and to see him pardoned given his lawyers connections to Trump Admin was pretty alarming.
@ellazhang516 Ella Zhang on x
Some once-influential media outlets are fading because they've lost their integrity — reporting no longer grounded in truth. The facts are clear and stated as follows: 👇
@acyn @acyn on x
Collins: Can you explain why you chose to pardon the founder of Binance and did it have anything to do with his involvement with you family— Trump: Which founder is that? Collins: Binance. He has an involvement in your family's business Trump: He was recommended by a lot of [vide…
@heyibinance Yi He on x
I ncredible news of CZ's pardon today! Thank you, President Trump @POTUS for your leadership and for your commitment to make the US the crypto capital of the world! CZ's vision not only made Binance the world's largest crypto exchange but shaped the broader crypto movement. [imag…
@aridavidpaul Ari Paul on x
@lex_node I never saw any serious counter to the on-chain “proof” that he stole customer funds. CZ never offered one. Was covered by Reuters, verified by anyone who wants independently on-chain. CZ stole customer funds in a similar manner to SBF. The difference was CZ was able to…
@lomahcrypto Loma on x
It's merely a coincidence that insiders have frequently and consistently mugged everybody this cycle. Surely there's no collaboration between these parties. Heh. [image]
@balajis Balaji on x
@adamscochran No. Democrats are the criminals. Biden literally sent billions to Iran. While abolishing the police domestically. And launching show trials against CEOs. That entire regime was a corrupt joke.
@coffeebreak_yt Coffeezilla on x
🚨TRUMP PARDONS CONVICTED BINANCE FOUNDER CZ PER WSJ CRIME IS LEGAL. 🤘 [image]
@aridavidpaul Ari Paul on x
@coffeebreak_YT Going rate for a pardon is lm$10-30m from what I hear, but wouldn't be surprised if CZ paid a lot more. A really untenable environment to be an ethical actor. Basically anyone can just steal $1b and buy a get out of jail free card for ~$20m. And that guarantees th…
@atrupar Aaron Rupar on x
COLLINS: Today you pardoned the founded of Binance. Can you explain why you did that? TRUMP: Which one was that? COLLINS: The founder of Binance TRUMP: I believe we're talking about the same person, because I do pardon a lot of people. I don't know. He was recommended by a [video…
@ryansadams Ryan Sξan Adams on x
Do not pardon SBF
@balajis Balaji on x
CZ deserves his pardon. His show trial of a prosecution was a combination of regulatory railroading and ethnic persecution for being Chinese-Canadian. Imagine if Macron was held personally responsible for every crime committed by the 67M citizens of France, and you'll get the
@timodc Tim Miller on x
Massive fraud is happening around him in this area
@jason @jason on x
Big day for law and disorder NBA, pardons and extrajudicial executions—oh my!
@teresagoody Teresa Goody Guillén on x
With my client, Mr. Zhao (@cz_binance), we express our profound gratitude to @POTUS President Donald J. Trump, whose courage and moral clarity made this day possible. His decision affirms that in the United States, principle can still triumph over politics. Today is more than an
@brendanpedersen Brendan Pedersen on x
In 2023, the SEC complaint against Binance had internal messages which, among other things, showed Binance's *chief compliance officer* put in writing that “[w]e are operating as a fking unlicensed securities exchange in the USA bro.” [image]
@thestalwart Joe Weisenthal on x
It's funny though. There were so many people that were certain SBF would be pardoned by Biden, because he was a donor. Or just that his donations would insulate him in some way in the end. And it literally got him nothing.
@epsilontheory Ben Hunt on x
What a total crock of shit. “President Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the crypto exchange Binance, following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family's own crypto company” https://www.wsj.com/...
@mehdirhasan Mehdi Hasan on x
Political interviews and media doing reporting and accountability journalism has been reduced by this president to a kid in the sandpit. 'You're know nothing... you're fake news.' Don't know if it'll recover or be allowed to recover.
@aridavidpaul Ari Paul on x
@valardragon @lex_node He directed client assets to his personal trading shop. Same as what SBF did, stealing FTX funds to Alameda. And like with CZ, SBF was sure he'd profit and pay back the stolen funds before anyone noticed. https://www.reuters.com/...
@repjerrynadler Rep. Nadler on x
Binance CEO CZ allowed Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades and other terrorist groups to use his platform, pled guilty, and owed billions in fines. Then Trump pardoned him, just months after a $2 billion stablecoin deal between Binance and his family's crypto venture. Trump is selling
@campbelljaustin Austin Campbell on x
Counterpoint: CZ did not deserve a pardon. But the bank execs belong in jail.
@pitdesi Sheel Mohnot on x
@JTLonsdale Curious why you give him credit for everything good but everything bad is just bad advice. Would you say that to a CEO? “You're great, best ever, but you did this horribly corrupt thing - your advisors are terrible, but you are great!”
@0xmert_ Mert on x
how about you pardon the guys who have their lives ruined for writing code for private money unbelievable
@ronfilipkowski Ron Filipkowski on x
One of Zhao's lawyers also represents Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff's son Zach, who co-founded Trump's crypto company with him and got UAE to put in $2 billion. Zhao's other lawyer is Donald Trump, Jr's longtime hunting companion.
@adamscochran Adam Cochran on x
When you plea out to the lesser charge that doesn't make it not money laundering. CZ knew criminals were using the exchange to launder money. They wrote about it internally. They TAUGHT customers how to bypass their own systems so they could use the exchange. Don't rewrite [image…
@zephyr_z9 @zephyr_z9 on x
> be 12 year old CZ, dad gets simp zoned by Mao 2.0, family exile speedrun to Canada > first job: McDonald's grill, quit after 3 hrs because grease burns aren't a tokenomic > torrent “C++ for Dummies” off Kazaa, code trading bots instead of doing homework > 2005: sell
@agowa Attorney General Nick Brown on x
This was a major investigation in the Western District of Washington during my time as U.S. Attorney. I am proud of the countless hours by our team that led to his conviction. I guess it pays to help the President's family get richer. - NB
@coffeebreak_yt Coffeezilla on x
SBF must be absolutely seething lmao. [image]
@adamscochran Adam Cochran on x
@balajis He *KNOWINGLY* allowed groups like Hamas and Wagner to use Binance, joked about violating sanctions internally, and taught people how to circumvent sanctions. Utter nonsense to rewrite his history as unfair prosecution. Was there unfair overreach in the prior admin again…
@coffeebreak_yt Coffeezilla on x
SBF was truly ahead of his time in the grift. [image]
@campbelljaustin Austin Campbell on x
@SenWarren You sat by idly while banks did the same thing and did nothing. If CZ is a criminal, you sold everyone out to the bankers for pennies.
@aridavidpaul Ari Paul on x
@JTLonsdale He's in business with CZ, profiting and laundering money as we speak. You make it sound like Trump is a patsy. It's very clear and deliberate. Not to mention the pay for pardon scheme going...have no idea what CZ paid, but most cases have been $10-$30m from what I hea…
@josheakle Joshua Reed Eakle on x
Taps the sign. [image]
@repdonbeyer Rep. Don Beyer on x
Donald Trump and the Trump family's self enrichment from crypto dealings are one of the worst corruption scandals in American history and this is one of the most blatant and corrupt acts in pursuit of those payouts that Trump has ever done.
@rebeccaballhaus Rebecca Ballhaus on x
NEWS: Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the crypto exchange Binance, following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family's own crypto company. w/@jdawsey1 @kowsmann @AABerwick https://www.wsj.com/...
@dkthomp Derek Thompson on x
The idea that “We're in another Gilded Age” is thrown around a lot, and sometimes it's lazy and vague, but nakedly corrupt quid pro quo between plutocrats and bureaucrats—say, a convicted felon helping the president's family make a bunch of crypto money and getting his conviction
@benbybit Ben Zhou on x
@cz_binance Congrats CZ!
@balajis Balaji on x
The pardon was deserved, because the prosecution should never have happened in the first place: https://x.com/...
@rbreich Robert Reich on x
Trump has pardoned billionaire crypto mogul and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao — who pled guilty to money laundering charges. This comes after Zhao helped boost the Trump family's crypto business. It's just the latest example of Trump's Pay-to-Pardon Scheme. [video]
@mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x
This dude just LOVES white collar crime
@adamscochran Adam Cochran on x
@balajis This is the dumbest fucking thing you could say right now: A) Given the current corruption that you are literally suggesting is a non-issue when it's flat out pay for access. B) Its inaccurate. C) None of the things you've just said, negate the fact the point discussed. …
@justinsuntron @justinsuntron on x
Congratulations to CZ and to the entire crypto community on reaching this historic moment. It hasn't been easy, but it's finally here! @cz_binance
@iamdcinvestor @iamdcinvestor on x
on the face of it, this might sound like it's good for SBF's chances, but actually it's really bad
@innerdevcrypto @innerdevcrypto on x
¨following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family's own crypto company¨ oh...so you mean CZ basically used binance to make Trump more money, f**king over countless users, especially on the 10th of october, and now these two criminals are going to work together to [im…
@chafkin Max Chafkin on x
wrote about the pardon of CZ and why the claim (from White House spox Karoline Leavitt) that this was a victimless crime stretches the truth https://www.bloomberg.com/... [image]
@macfarlanenews Scott MacFarlane on x
In its sentencing memo against now-pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the Justice Dept argued Zhao's company “critically undermined the effectiveness of US sanctions against Iran by providing its Iranian customers the ability to transact with the U.S. customers” [image]
@tvietor08 Tommy Vietor on x
Binance willfully failed to report transactions on its platform by Al Qaeda, ISIS, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. But then Trump's crypto company made a multi-billion dollar deal in partnership with Binance, so Trump gave the founder a pardon. Shockingly brazen corruption. …
@apompliano Anthony Pompliano on x
It is great to see @cz_binance receive a pardon. He has done an excellent job innovating in finance and helping advance America's interest around the world. There is no place for political targeting in the US justice system, regardless of which side does it.
@jdawsey1 Josh Dawsey on x
President Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the crypto exchange Binance, following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family's own crypto company. w/@rebeccaballhaus and co: https://www.wsj.com/...
@fritschner Aaron Fritschner on x
He put money in the Trump family's pocket and Trump pardoned him. Direct, uncomplicated corruption to enrich the Trump family. Pardons for sale
@brendannyhan Brendan Nyhan on x
A pardon “following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family's own crypto company.” Unprecedented corruption.
@lex_node @lex_node on x
good move imo and nothing like pardoning SBF despite clowns like Adam Cochran likely having short positions in BNB and SBF sympathizers like “Mr Wonderful” FUDDing nonstop all they had on him is some chats shittalking onerous sanctions requirements he didn't steal users'
@can @can on x
Bull sign for Elizabeth Holmes
@ike_saul Isaac Saul on x
Zhao admitted to the crimes he was convicted of too, btw, and he wasn't even in prison anymore [image]
@ike_saul Isaac Saul on x
Zhao was convicted because his exchange was used by terrorist groups and child porn distributors and he did nothing to stop it. But he has boosted the Trump crypto fortune and so he's a good guy worth defending now [image]
@sunnyright Sunny on x
About as close to a direct payoff for a pardon that we've seen in a while
@spencerhakimian Spencer Hakimian on x
*TRUMP PARDONED BINANCE FOUNDER CHANGPENG ZHAO ON WEDNESDAY Everything is pay to play with him
@ljs527 Art Vandelay on x
I am asking very politely for the Democrats to include pardon reform as part of their party platform going forward. It's an easy win with the American people. Why not take it? The power has been abused and sold to the highest bidder. End it.
@ike_saul Isaac Saul on x
Changpeng Zhao is comically corrupt. And he just successfully won a pardon from Trump by boosting the Trump family crypto coin. I mean, this is a months-long scandal in any other normal administration. [image]
@ahiggitt Adam Higgitt on bluesky
Binance failed to declare transactions from ISIS, Al-Qaida and Hamas, according to DOJ.
@jonathancohn Jonathan Cohn on bluesky
The fact that crypto is just brazen money laundering is not a problem to Trump because that's always been one of his main lines of business. www.cnn.com/2025/10/23/p...
@jessmarindavis Jess Davis on bluesky
I wonder how much he paid Trump for this pardon? “Binance's “willful failures allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers through its platform. www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
@micaylah @micaylah on bluesky
@atrupar.com I think I know who just called Trump. — www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
@thedailyedge @thedailyedge on bluesky
Shitting on Americans and destroying the East Wing of the White House wasn't enough for one week. — Trump just pardoned the crypto money launderer who made Eric a billionaire this year www.cnbc.com/2025/10/23/t...
@o.simardcasanova.net Olivier Simard-Casanova on bluesky
Staggering levels of open corruption — It also raises questions about the power of pardoning
@asmith83 Adam Smith on bluesky
Binance has made the Trump family rich this year and now he is pardoning the company's founder. www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
@uglygame Martin Calladine on bluesky
Zhao had instructed staff at his crypto exchange not to apply anti-money laundering checks, with the result that US authorities were able to identify that Binance had been used for money laundering by terrorist groups including Hamas, al-Qaeda and ISIS. — www.wsj.com/finance/cu…
@keithboykin Keith Boykin on bluesky
Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange who pleaded guilty to money laundering two years ago, after Zhao (also known as CZ) lent his support to the Trump family's own crypto venture. — 47 is out here selling pardons to the highest b…
@newsguy Steve Herman on bluesky
President Trump has reportedly pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the crypto exchange Binance, following months of effort by the Chinese-born Canadian businessman to boost the Trump family's own crypto company. www.wsj.com/finance/currencie...
@besmarteasy @besmarteasy on bluesky
Predictable. Next up Diddy, then the year end finale- Maxwell and/or maybe SBF [embedded post]
@rebekahtromble Rebekah Tromble on bluesky
This is what corruption looks like. — “The pardon follows months of efforts by Changpeng Zhao to boost Trump crypto company.” — www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
@carlquintanilla Carl Quintanilla on bluesky
1. Promote and write code for Trump's stablecoin. — 2. SEC drops its Binance lawsuit. — 3. Get a Trump pardon. — @wsj.com — www.wsj.com/finance/curr... [image]
@johncastiglione John Castiglione on bluesky
Federal law is now, explicitly: “If you bribe the President you may commit crimes; if you are brown or a Democrat, you may be assaulted or disappeared by the President's gestapo.” — www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
@ryanlcooper.com Ryan Cooper on bluesky
since Trump is not eligible to be president, all his pardons are null and void imo. something to keep in your back pocket www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
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