Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao Seeks Trump Pardon After Prison Release

Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former chief executive of Binance, has confirmed he is seeking a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, following his release from prison last year for violations of U.S. anti-money laundering laws. In a podcast interview published on Farokh Radio , Zhao said his legal team filed the application two weeks ago, after media reports in March suggested he was pursuing clemency in connection with business discussions involving Trump-linked crypto ventures. “We only submitted after the Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal articles came out,” Zhao said. While he had previously denied reports of ongoing talks with Binance.US or Trump-affiliated firms, he acknowledged that the press coverage prompted him to move forward with a formal request. “If they are writing this article, we might as well just officially apply,” he added. Zhao served four months in prison after pleading guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. He was released in September 2024 and remains the company’s largest shareholder. In addition to his sentence, Zhao paid a $50 million fine. Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties, part of one of the largest corporate settlements in U.S. history. Despite the pardon application, Zhao said he has no plans to return to the helm of Binance. “I’m not really looking to become CEO of Binance again,” he said on the podcast. The move comes as the Trump administration has increasingly embraced figures tied to the cryptocurrency industry. Since returning to office, Trump has issued several high-profile pardons , including one in January for Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road, and another in March for three co-founders of the crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX, including Arthur Hayes . Reports also suggest Sam Bankman-Fried may be seeking clemency under the Trump administration. Zhao’s request is expected to draw scrutiny given the scale of Binance’s legal troubles and the broader debate over crypto regulation in the U.S. Additionally, Binance executives were reportedly lobbying the Treasury Department to loosen oversight and may list a new Trump-linked stablecoin, USD1 .