Trump says doesn't know who CZ is after pardon
President Donald Trump says he has no idea who Changpeng Zhao is — even though he granted the cryptocurrency billionaire a presidential pardon last month.
Trump was questioned about the decision during an interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes, which aired Sunday.
Zhao — or “CZ,” as he is widely known — pleaded guilty in 2023 to failing to prevent money laundering on Binance, the crypto exchange he co-founded. He served a four-month sentence and stepped down as chief executive as part of the plea agreement.
Zhao’s business interests have recently intersected with ventures linked to Trump. His companies have been involved in new digital-currency efforts with Dominari Holdings, a firm based in Trump Tower where both of Trump’s sons serve on the advisory board.
When 60 Minutes anchor Norah O’Donnell pressed Trump on why he pardoned Zhao despite prosecutors saying Zhao posed a national-security risk, Trump responded:
“Are you ready? I don’t know who he is.”
Trump said he doesn’t remember ever meeting Zhao and claimed he had “no idea who he is,” other than being told Zhao was the target of what Trump described as a political “witch hunt” by the prior Biden administration.
Trump went on to reiterate his support for cryptocurrency, saying the United States must lead the industry or risk allowing countries like China to dominate emerging digital-asset technologies.
The pardon removes limits that previously barred Zhao from running certain financial ventures, though it is still unclear what the pardon means for his regulatory status or any future role at Binance.
After the pardon was issued, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended it, arguing that Zhao’s prosecution was part of what she called Biden’s “war on cryptocurrency.” She said the case was overzealous and that Trump used his constitutional power to remedy what they viewed as an excessive action by the prior administration.
Binance remains the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the world.
Previously, the Trump administration dropped a fraud case involving crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, after Sun invested in the Trump family’s digital-asset business, World Liberty Financial.