Chalien Dantes/Contributor

Donald Trump just dropped a major bombshell in the crypto world by pardoning Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the globe’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange.

Zhao, often known as CZ, was caught up in a high-profile crackdown led by the Biden administration. Back in late 2023, Zhao admitted to failing to keep proper anti-money laundering controls in place and stepped down as CEO. Binance ended up paying a whopping US$4.3 billion to settle related charges, and Zhao himself was handed a four-month prison sentence.

CZ isn’t just any crypto player as he’s one of the richest and most influential figures in the space. He turned Binance into a titan, though after his guilty plea, the company was banned from operating in the US.

Trump’s pardon comes after months of buzz and behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, giving Zhao and Binance a massive win. This move also signals a clear change in how the Trump administration views the crypto industry, leaning towards loosening the rules, just as Trump’s own family is diving deeper into the crypto business.

Interestingly, Trump’s family’s crypto company has been chatting with Binance about potentially investing in its US operations. Zhao insists there’s no quid pro quo involved with the pardon, but the timing certainly raised eyebrows.

Binance hasn’t just been a player in the market; they’ve been a key part of the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial crypto project. Earlier this year, when Binance processed a US$2 billion transaction from an Emirati investment fund, it agreed to have the payment made in a cryptocurrency created by World Liberty Financial. That move gave a big boost to the Trump family’s digital currency and brought in some serious cash.

Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren, voiced their worries back in May, suggesting that Binance and the Trump administration might be cooking up a deal that could pad the president’s pockets.

On the legal front, the US Justice Department had accused Binance of ignoring over 100,000 suspicious transactions, some linked to terrorist groups like al-Qaida and Hamas. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance in 2023 but dropped the case shortly after Trump took office.