Binance Ex-CEO Gets Pardon. The Exchange's Crypto Coin Rises. — Barrons.com
By Anita Hamilton and Joe LightThe price of the crypto coin Binance Coin rose more than 6% Thursday after news that Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the exchange the coin is named after, received a pardon from President Donald Trump.Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program at the crypto exchange. The exchange also agreed to pay $4 billion to resolve Justice Department charges.Zhao served a four-month jail term in 2024."President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. "The Biden Administration's war on crypto is over."The pardon is the latest move by Trump to unwind the broad crackdown on crypto exchanges and executives during former President Joe Biden's administration.The crypto market imploded in 2022, culminating in the collapse of FTX, a rival to Binance, amid allegations of fraud and inside dealing. The collapse cost investors billions of dollars, and agencies under Biden prosecuted or sued dozens of firms for violating securities laws or failing to adhere to anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism rules that many financial institutions are subject to.When Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023, the government said Binance had allowed illicit actors to make more than 100,000 transactions in support of activities such as child sexual abuse, illegal narcotics, and terrorism associated with groups including Hamas, ISIS, and al Qaeda. In a social media post announcing he was stepping down as CEO, Zhao said he had "made mistakes" and would take responsibility.Trump was not always a Bitcoin supporter himself, once calling it a "scam," but during his 2024 presidential campaign he took a sharp turn in favor of crypto firms as he received millions of dollars of donations from industry executives. Since taking office, Trump has dropped cases and rolled back penalties against many crypto firms that Biden officials had said violated securities laws.At the same time, Trump and his family have made millions of dollars themselves on crypto investments through issuing tokens and forming a Bitcoin mining company among other ventures. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Trump family representatives held talks to take a financial stake in the U.S. arm of Binance even has Zhao pushed for a pardon.In a post on X on Thursday, Zhao wrote he was "deeply grateful for today's pardon and to President Trump for upholding America's commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice."Write to Anita Hamilton at [email protected] content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.