Binance Founder CZ Applies for Trump Pardon After 4-Month Prison Term

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder and former CEO of Binance, has confirmed that he has formally applied for a presidential pardon from former U.S. President Donald Trump. This announcement came during an episode of the Farohk Radio podcast, where Zhao revealed that his legal team submitted the application two weeks prior to the podcast.

Zhao's decision to apply for a pardon follows media reports that suggested he was seeking a pardon while engaging in cryptocurrency business deals involving Trump family allies. Initially, Zhao publicly rejected parts of these stories, calling them inaccurate and denying any active business negotiations involving Binance U.S. However, the media coverage prompted him to officially apply for a pardon, stating, “I was like, well, if they are writing this article, we might as well officially apply.”

Zhao was sentenced in April 2024 after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance. He served a four-month prison term and paid a $50 million fine. Binance itself paid $4.3 billion in what became one of the largest corporate settlements in U.S. history. He was released in September last year.

Trump has a history of pardoning high-profile figures in the cryptocurrency space, including Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and BitMEX’s co-founders. This has contributed to a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment under his administration. During the podcast, Zhao also revealed that he was not invested in Donald Trump’s official memecoin TRUMP. Earlier this week, Zhao advised Kyrgyzstan on using BTC and BNB as the initial cryptocurrencies for a potential National Crypto Reserve.

Zhao emphasized that no criminal would refuse a pardon, highlighting the significance of his legal team's submission of the pardon application on his behalf. He also praised Trump's pro-crypto stance, indicating that this was a factor in his decision to seek a pardon from the . The news of CZ's pardon application has raised concerns about the potential impact on the cryptocurrency industry. Some analysts have expressed fears that the pardon could set a precedent for future cases involving cryptocurrency regulation and legal risks. However, CZ has declared that he will not return to Binance, focusing instead on his personal legal matters and the potential implications of his pardon application.