U.S. President Donald Trump has granted Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao a pardon, months after the former exchange CEO confirmed he'd asked for a presidential pardon, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Zhao served four months in prison in 2024 after pleading guilty in November 2023 to charges of violating the Bank Secrecy Act. As part of his plea deal, he stepped down from running Binance, the exchange he'd founded and helmed since 2017. Binance also pled guilty to charges and agreed to a court-appointed monitor.
A pardon means Zhao can conduct more business operations in the U.S.
Zhao said he had asked for a pardon in May 2025, after reports from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal that his team had sought a pardon for him.
BNB BNB$1,154.65, originally created as the native token of CZ's Binance exchange and now the native currency for BNB Chain, added about 3% in the minutes following the news.
