Trump May Pardon Binance’s CZ, and It’s About Time, Right?

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The grand spectacle that is American politics may soon take an unexpected turn, as whispers from the corridors of power suggest that President Donald Trump might extend his presidential mercy toward none other than Changpeng Zhao, the charismatic and ever-controversial Co-Founder of Binance. Yes, you heard it right – the man whose crypto empire once ruled the digital world like a modern-day czar could be about to get a free pass from Uncle Sam. 🙄

Let us recall, if you will, the events of 2024, when Zhao – or CZ, as the cool kids call him – found himself on the wrong side of the law. In a moment of great drama, he pleaded guilty to money laundering, which sounds so much more exciting than simply “breaking the rules.” His punishment? A mere four months in prison and a hefty $50 million fine, a mere pocket change for a man of his stature. Oh, and let’s not forget the small detail of stepping down as the CEO of Binance, as if that was the real tragedy here. 😏

Now, fast forward to the present, and it appears that Trump’s loyal insiders have been chatting amongst themselves, with some suggesting that the whole case against CZ was “pretty weak.” Weak, like a half-baked souffle that never quite rose. And why, pray tell, does this matter? Because Zhao, still the largest shareholder in Binance, may just find himself allowed back into the crypto game, as if his brief sojourn in prison were merely a bad dream. Some insiders are even saying this whole felony thing never really needed to happen. Oh, the joys of powerful connections! 🙄

SCOOP: People close to @cz_binance, the former @binance chief who spent some time in the can amid the Biden Admin’s crackdown on all things crypto, say discussions inside the White House are heating up on the possibility of a pardon from @realDonaldTrump. Many Trump insiders…

– Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) October 10, 2025

Zhao, ever the optimist, responded to these rumors with a well-practiced smile, saying it would be “great news if true.” After all, what’s not to love about the possibility of being forgiven for a single violation of the Banking Secrecy Act, with the added bonus of avoiding fraud charges? One small slip-up in a vast ocean of illicit crypto activity – a mere technicality, really. 🙃

Let’s not forget that Trump’s administration has shown a certain… leniency toward the crypto industry in the past. BitMEX founders? Free as birds. Ross Ulbricht? Walking the streets once again. Perhaps, in the grand scheme of things, a little mercy for Zhao is just par for the course. Or, as they say in Washington, business as usual. 🤑

CZ pleaded guilty in 2023

The plot thickens. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice found that Binance, under the stewardship of CZ, had a rather lax attitude toward Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols. A bit too lax, perhaps. In the aftermath of the charges, Zhao admitted to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering laws, but hey, who hasn’t had a little lapse in judgment? It’s not like he started a Ponzi scheme or anything. 🙃

Binance, ever the deep-pocketed entity, handed over a staggering $4.3 billion in fines, but CZ himself only parted with $50 million, which, in the grand scheme of things, probably felt like a very mild inconvenience. His punishment also included being banned from holding an executive role at Binance – a ruling that seemed almost cruel given his continued hold on a massive stake in the company. 😏

Yet, despite all the drama, the man faced just four months in the slammer, which seems a bit light considering the high stakes of the digital gold rush. Released in April 2024, CZ wasted no time in diving back into the world of business. He started Giggle Academy, a nonprofit educational app (because why not?), and, as you’d expect, began investing in biotech and AI. The future is, after all, all about tech, and CZ is nothing if not a futurist. 🚀

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2025-10-13 16:05