"People close to Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance better known as 'CZ,' say discussions are intensifying inside the Trump White House over whether to issue a presidential pardon for the embattled crypto executive, according to reporting from Charles Gasparino, a Senior Correspondent at FOX Business. Zhao, once among the most influential figures in the digital asset world, served time following a plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2023 that included a money-laundering conviction and $4.3 billion in fines for Binance."
"But according to several sources familiar with the matter, many within Trump's inner circle now view the case as politically motivated - a hallmark of what they describe as the Biden administration's broader crackdown on crypto. Zhao remains Binance's largest individual shareholder, and a pardon could clear the way for his formal return to the exchange, which he founded in 2017 and grew into the world's largest Bitcoin and crypto trading platform."
"Zhao's 2023 conviction marked one of the most high-profile cases in the government's campaign against major exchanges. U.S. prosecutors accused Binance of allowing illicit transactions with sanctioned entities and failing to implement proper anti-money-laundering controls. CZ pleaded guilty, stepped down as CEO, and paid a personal fine of $50 million. Zhao served a four-month prison sentence. He was sentenced in April 2024 and released in September 2024, after spending time in a low-security federal prison in California and then a halfway house."
Discussions inside the Trump White House are intensifying over whether to grant a presidential pardon to Changpeng Zhao. Zhao served time after a 2023 plea deal that included a money-laundering conviction and $4.3 billion in fines for Binance. CZ pleaded guilty, stepped down as CEO, and paid a personal fine of $50 million. He served a four-month prison sentence, was sentenced in April 2024, and released in September 2024 after time in a low-security federal prison and a halfway house. Many within Trump's inner circle view the case as politically motivated and as part of a broader crackdown on crypto. A pardon could clear the way for Zhao's return to Binance and signal a shift toward innovation-friendly crypto policy; a decision could come before year’s end.
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