U.S. President Donald Trump has granted a pardon to Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, known for establishing the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally. Zhao previously served time in prison for his failure to prevent criminals from utilizing the platform for illicit activities linked to child exploitation, drug trafficking, and terrorism.
Requesting the pardon from Trump, Zhao has strong connections to World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency initiative initiated by the Republican president and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. in September. According to Trump’s latest financial disclosure, he generated over $57 million in revenue last year from World Liberty Financial, the entity behind USD1, a stablecoin pegged at a 1-to-1 ratio with the U.S. dollar.
Furthermore, World Liberty Financial disclosed that a UAE-based investment fund is set to leverage $2 billion in USD1 to acquire a stake in Binance. Zhao has openly expressed his plea for a pardon from Trump to overturn his conviction.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Thursday that the Biden administration targeted Zhao as part of its efforts to penalize the cryptocurrency sector. Leavitt emphasized that there were no accusations of fraud or identifiable victims, even though Zhao admitted guilt in November to failing to maintain an anti-money-laundering program.
During his court appearance last year, Zhao acknowledged his lapse, expressing deep remorse and extending an apology for his shortcomings.
