Trump considering pardon for Binance founder CZ

People close to Changpeng Zhao — the former Binance CEO widely known as “CZ” — say conversations are heating up inside the Trump White House over a potential presidential pardon for the embattled crypto executive, FOX Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino reported.

Zhao, once one of the most powerful figures in global crypto, served time after pleading guilty to money-laundering violations as part of a 2023 plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice that also required Binance to pay $4.3 billion in fines.

According to multiple sources familiar with the discussions, several members of Trump’s inner circle view Zhao’s prosecution as politically driven — emblematic, they say, of what they see as the Biden administration’s broader hostility toward the cryptocurrency industry.

Zhao remains Binance’s largest individual shareholder, and a pardon could open the door for his formal return to the company he founded in 2017, which went on to become the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Speculation about a potential Trump pardon has circulated for much of the year, but sources say a final decision may be imminent.