President Trump pardons convicted Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family's World Liberty Financial
reporting no longer grounded in truth. The facts are clear and stated as follows: 👇 @acyn : 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 [video] Yi He / @heyibinance : 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. [image] Ari Paul / @aridavidpaul : @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 pay Loma / @lomahcrypto : 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] Balaji / @balajis : @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. Coffeezilla / @coffeebreak_yt : 🚨TRUMP PARDONS CONVICTED BINANCE FOUNDER CZ PER WSJ CRIME IS LEGAL. 🤘 [image] Ari Paul / @aridavidpaul : @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 that the Aaron Rupar / @atrupar : 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] Ryan Sξan Adams / @ryansadams : Do not pardon SBF Balaji / @balajis : 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 Tim Miller / @timodc : Massive fraud is happening around him in this area @jason : Big day for law and disorder NBA, pardons and extrajudicial executions—oh my! Teresa Goody Guillén / @teresagoody : 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 Brendan Pedersen / @brendanpedersen : 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] Joe Weisenthal / @thestalwart : 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. Ben Hunt / @epsilontheory : 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/... Mehdi Hasan / @mehdirhasan : 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. Ari Paul / @aridavidpaul : @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/... Rep. Nadler / @repjerrynadler : 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 Austin Campbell / @campbelljaustin : Counterpoint: CZ did not deserve a pardon. But the bank execs belong in jail. Sheel Mohnot / @pitdesi : @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!” Mert / @0xmert_ : how about you pardon the guys who have their lives ruined for writing code for private money unbelievable Ron Filipkowski / @ronfilipkowski : 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. Adam Cochran / @adamscochran : 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 : > 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 Attorney General Nick Brown / @agowa : 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 Coffeezilla / @coffeebreak_yt : SBF must be absolutely seething lmao. [image] Adam Cochran / @adamscochran : @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 against [image] Coffeezilla / @coffeebreak_yt : SBF was truly ahead of his time in the grift. [image] Austin Campbell / @campbelljaustin : @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. Ari Paul / @aridavidpaul : @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 hear. Joshua Reed Eakle / @josheakle : Taps the sign. [image] Rep. Don Beyer / @repdonbeyer : 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. Rebecca Ballhaus / @rebeccaballhaus : 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/... Derek Thompson / @dkthomp : 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 Ben Zhou / @benbybit : @cz_binance Congrats CZ! Balaji / @balajis : The pardon was deserved, because the prosecution should never have happened in the first place: https://x.com/... Robert Reich / @rbreich : 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] Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias : This dude just LOVES white collar crime Adam Cochran / @adamscochran : @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. Biden @justinsuntron : 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 : on the face of it, this might sound like it's good for SBF's chances, but actually it's really bad @innerdevcrypto : ¨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 [image] Max Chafkin / @chafkin : 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] Scott MacFarlane / @macfarlanenews : 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] Tommy Vietor / @tvietor08 : 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. [image] Anthony Pompliano / @apompliano : 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. Josh Dawsey / @jdawsey1 : 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/... Aaron Fritschner / @fritschner : He put money in the Trump family's pocket and Trump pardoned him. Direct, uncomplicated corruption to enrich the Trump family. Pardons for sale Brendan Nyhan / @brendannyhan : A pardon “following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family's own crypto company.” Unprecedented corruption. @lex_node : 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 : Bull sign for Elizabeth Holmes Isaac Saul / @ike_saul : Zhao admitted to the crimes he was convicted of too, btw, and he wasn't even in prison anymore [image] Isaac Saul / @ike_saul : 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] Sunny / @sunnyright : About as close to a direct payoff for a pardon that we've seen in a while Spencer Hakimian / @spencerhakimian : *TRUMP PARDONED BINANCE FOUNDER CHANGPENG ZHAO ON WEDNESDAY Everything is pay to play with him Art Vandelay / @ljs527 : 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. Isaac Saul / @ike_saul : 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] LinkedIn: Daniella Ballou-Aares : A question for business leaders managing political risk: If a business executive pleads guilty to violating anti-money-laundering laws … Vanessa Grellet : So excited to share that Changpeng Zhao has been pardoned by Donald Trump — an important milestone in the crypto world. … Bluesky: Adam Higgitt / @ahiggitt : Binance failed to declare transactions from ISIS, Al-Qaida and Hamas, according to DOJ. Jonathan Cohn / @jonathancohn : 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... Jess Davis / @jessmarindavis : 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 : @atrupar.com I think I know who just called Trump. — www.wsj.com/finance/curr... @thedailyedge : 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... Olivier Simard-Casanova / @o.simardcasanova.net : Staggering levels of open corruption — It also raises questions about the power of pardoning Adam Smith / @asmith83 : Binance has made the Trump family rich this year and now he is pardoning the company's founder. www.wsj.com/finance/curr... Martin Calladine / @uglygame : 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/curr... Keith Boykin / @keithboykin : 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 bidder. Steve Herman / @newsguy : 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 : Predictable. Next up Diddy, then the year end finale- Maxwell and/or maybe SBF [embedded post] Rebekah Tromble / @rebekahtromble : 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... Carl Quintanilla / @carlquintanilla : 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] John Castiglione / @johncastiglione : 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... Ryan Cooper / @ryanlcooper.com : 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... Mastodon: Molly White / @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io : Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. Binance has been a major supporter of Trump's crypto projects, and Trump has already made millions after Binance accepted a $2 billion investment from an Emirati fund denominated in the Trump family's USD1 stablecoin. … Kevin Beaumont / @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social : President Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the crypto exchange Binance, according to people familiar with the matter, following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family's own crypto company. — https://www.wsj.com/... Forums: Hacker News : Trump pardons convicted Binance founder r/CryptoCurrency : Trump pardons convicted Binance founder Changpeng Zhao r/technology : Trump pardons convicted Binance founder r/politics : Trump Pardons Founder of the Crypto Exchange Binance r/Economics : Trump pardons convicted Binance founder Changpeng Zhao r/JoeRogan : The Jizzlane pardon is so happening r/Economics : Trump Pardons Convicted Binance Founder r/USNEWS : Trump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao r/inthenews : Trump pardons convicted Binance founder Changpeng Zhao r/behindthebastards : President Trump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao r/Humanitydool : Trump pardons convicted Binance founder Changpeng Zhao r/DeFranco : Trump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao r/Buttcoin : Exclusive | Trump Pardons Convicted Binance Founder: Pardon follows months of efforts by Changpeng Zhao to boost Trump crypto company r/politics : Trump pardons convicted Binance founder Zhao, White House says r/binance : Trump pardons convicted Binance founder Zhao, White House says r/politics : Trump pardons convicted Binance founder Changpeng Zhao r/Destiny : Exclusive | Trump Pardons Convicted Binance Founder
Wall Street Journal
Context & Ripple Effects
The pardon follows reporting that Zhao sought clemency while Trump family representatives discussed a potential Binance.US stake, and that Zhao later promoted the family’s crypto venture. The sequence puts a business-and-policy conflict question at the center of an already consequential enforcement case.
It also extends a pattern set by the pardons of BitMEX’s founders and precedes coverage of Zhao’s ability to refocus on the U.S. market. That makes the decision relevant not only to Zhao personally but to how crypto enforcement outcomes are perceived.
First-order effects
Zhao is relieved of the consequences attached to his federal conviction, removing a major personal obstacle as he seeks to re-engage with the U.S. crypto market.
Binance and World Liberty Financial face sharper scrutiny over the reported links between Zhao’s clemency effort and support for the Trump family’s venture.
Second-order effects
Other crypto executives facing or emerging from enforcement actions gain a high-profile precedent alongside the earlier BitMEX pardons, potentially increasing the perceived value of political access in crisis management.
Binance.US may be better positioned to pursue a U.S. recovery if Zhao can again focus on that market, even as counterparties must weigh heightened reputational and compliance scrutiny.
Third-order effects
If such outcomes recur, the line between compliance enforcement and political influence could become a larger trust problem for U.S. crypto markets, particularly for institutions assessing counterparties and regulatory durability.
The episode may deepen the crypto legitimacy gap: formal enforcement can coexist with later political reversals, leaving the sector’s accountability signals less clear rather than eliminating the underlying compliance concerns.
The trend: Crypto’s push for U.S. legitimacy is increasingly being shaped by the interaction of enforcement history, political access, and commercial ties to politically connected ventures.
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.)
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
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]
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…
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
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]
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.
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
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
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
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.
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. 🙏
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
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.
@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.
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: 👇
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…
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…
@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…
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]
@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 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…
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…
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
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
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]
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.
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/...
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.
@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/...
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
@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!”
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.
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…
> 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
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
@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…
@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…
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.
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/...
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
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]
@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. …
¨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…
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]
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]
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. …
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.
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/...
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'
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]
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.
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]
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...
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...
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...
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…
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…
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...
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...
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...