US president Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance.

Zhao, widely known as CZ, pled guilty in November 2023 to violating anti-money-laundering laws and US sanctions. The plea formed part of a sweeping deal with the US Department of Justice, under which Binance was required to pay a record-breaking $4.3 billion penalty.

Zhao ultimately spent four months in federal prison. The DOJ had originally petitioned for a three-year prison sentence.

After issuing the pardon, the White House has cast Zhao as the victim of a plot to trample the crypto industry carried out by the administration of former president Joe Biden. Regulators brought a volley of lawsuits against high-profile businesses during this era, and the DOJ prosecuted

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