Trump Pardoned CZ: What Happened and What It Means

On October 23, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a full presidential pardon for Changpeng Zhao — CZ — the founder of Binance. CZ had pleaded guilty in November 2023 to a Bank Secrecy Act compliance violation and served four months in U.S. federal prison in 2024. The pardon wiped his conviction from the record.

The decision was one of the most discussed pardons of the Trump presidency, generating significant controversy on multiple sides. Here is what happened and why it matters.

Background: Why Was CZ in Prison?

CZ was not convicted of fraud. He was not accused of stealing from customers. He pleaded guilty to a single count of failing to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering compliance program at Binance — a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act.

As part of the broader settlement, Binance paid $4.3 billion to the U.S. Department of Justice. CZ paid a $150 million personal fine and stepped down as CEO. He was sentenced to four months in federal prison in April 2024 — a sentence that legal observers described as unusually severe for this type of compliance charge. No Binance customers lost any funds.

Trump's Justification

Trump described the prosecution as a "Biden witch hunt" and argued that CZ had been treated unfairly by the previous administration. In a CBS interview, Trump claimed he didn't personally know CZ but characterized the case as part of a broader pattern of the Biden administration pursuing crypto companies aggressively.

CZ himself has been consistent in his characterization of the regulatory environment under Biden. In interviews and in his memoir Freedom of Money, he describes the SEC under Gary Gensler as having shifted from neutral regulator to adversary, aligned with a political agenda hostile to cryptocurrency.

The Controversy

Critics of the pardon raised significant questions about the financial relationships involved. Several months before the pardon, MGX — an Emirati-backed investment firm — agreed to make a $2 billion investment in Binance using USD1, a stablecoin associated with Trump's crypto venture World Liberty Financial. Critics argued this financial connection made the pardon appear transactional.

Senator Elizabeth Warren described the pardon as an example of corruption. Others pointed out that BSA compliance violations — the actual charge CZ pleaded guilty to — had virtually never resulted in prison time for a corporate executive, making the original sentence a legitimate grievance regardless of the pardon's politics.

CZ acknowledged the business relationships but said they had been "misconstrued" and that he had not lobbied for a pardon through financial means.

What CZ Said About the Pardon

CZ said he had expected a pardon might eventually come but was surprised by its timing. He described himself as "a free man" following the pardon and indicated he had not been certain it would happen.

He has been careful not to make the pardon the centerpiece of his public re-emergence. His focus since release has been on Giggle Academy (an education initiative), YZi Labs (an investment vehicle), and BNB Chain development.

The Book: Freedom of Money

CZ wrote Freedom of Money beginning during his prison sentence — on computer terminals with 15-minute time limits, no copy-paste, typing as fast as he could. The 366-page memoir covers everything: his childhood in rural China without running water, building Binance from a small team to 300 million users, the FTX collapse, the DOJ case, prison, and the pardon.

The book was endorsed by Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates. The foreword is written by Yi He, co-founder of Binance. It is ranked #1 in Bitcoin & Cryptocurrencies on Amazon.

CZ donates 100% of his author royalties to charitable causes. If you want to understand the Binance story and the pardon from CZ's perspective, in his own words, this is where to start.