U.S. President Donald Trump has granted a pardon to Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Zhao had previously served time in prison for his failure to prevent criminals from utilizing the platform for illicit activities such as child sex abuse, drug trafficking, and terrorism financing.
Zhao’s request for a pardon from Trump was successful. He has strong connections to World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture initiated by the Republican president and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. Trump’s latest financial disclosure indicates earnings exceeding $57 million from World Liberty Financial in the previous year. The venture has introduced USD1, a stablecoin pegged at a 1-to-1 ratio with the U.S. dollar.
Moreover, World Liberty Financial recently disclosed that a United Arab Emirates investment fund plans to utilize $2 billion worth of USD1 to acquire a stake in Binance. Zhao openly expressed his plea for a pardon from Trump to overturn his conviction.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated on Thursday that the Biden administration’s prosecution of Zhao was driven by a bias against the cryptocurrency sector. She emphasized that there were no allegations of fraud or specific victims identified, despite Zhao’s admission of guilt in November for neglecting to maintain an anti-money-laundering program.
During his court appearance last year, Zhao admitted his failure, expressing deep regret and apologizing for his actions.
