U.S. President Donald Trump has granted a pardon to Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Zhao had served time in prison for not preventing criminals from using the platform for illicit activities related to child exploitation, drug trafficking, and terrorism.
Zhao had previously requested a pardon from Trump and has strong connections to World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture established by the Republican president and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. Trump’s recent financial disclosure report indicates that he earned over $57 million from World Liberty Financial last year. The venture has introduced USD1, a stablecoin pegged 1-to-1 to the U.S. dollar.
Additionally, World Liberty Financial disclosed that a UAE investment fund would utilize $2 billion worth of USD1 to acquire a stake in Binance. Zhao publicly expressed his plea for a pardon to overturn his conviction.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the Biden administration targeted Zhao as part of a crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry. She emphasized that there were no fraud allegations or identifiable victims, despite Zhao pleading guilty in November to failing to maintain an anti-money-laundering program.
In court last year, Zhao admitted his failure, expressing deep regret and apologizing for his actions.