President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed to ABC News on Thursday.
zhao He pleaded guilty in 2023 to one count of money laundering.
The pardon comes as Zhao took recent steps to boost World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company that Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., launched earlier this year.
Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao arrives at federal court in Seattle on April 30, 2024.
Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images
Leavitt said in a statement that Trump “exercised his constitutional authority by granting a pardon to Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in its war on cryptocurrencies.”
“In its desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden Administration pursued Mr. Zhao even though there were no allegations of fraud and no identifiable victims. The Biden administration attempted to imprison Mr. Zhao for three years“These actions by the Biden Administration severely damaged the United States’ reputation as a global leader in technology and innovation. “The Biden administration’s war on cryptocurrencies is over.”
He Wall Street Journal He was the first to report the pardon.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
