The RecordExhibit 60
Pardoned the crypto billionaire tied to his family's business
CriticizedLast checked Sep 30, 2026
Criticized means: Legal, or a policy choice, but widely condemned.
Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who had pleaded guilty to failing to stop money laundering on his exchange.
What happened
Zhao and Binance had backed the Trump family's crypto ventures, and a UAE fund used $2 billion of World Liberty Financial's USD1 stablecoin to buy into Binance. Trump said he didn't think he had ever met Zhao and acted at the request of a lot of very good people.
Where it stands
Pardons are legal. The concern is an apparent financial benefit flowing to the president's family.
The administration's side
The White House said Zhao was a target of the Biden administration's war on crypto and that there were no fraud victims.
Sources
Permanent link: https://unredactedrecord.com/e/cz/