President Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao in October 2025 following his federal conviction and prison sentence for anti-money laundering violations at Binance.
Sources: Reuters(opens in new tab)
company
Binance
World's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, registered in Cayman Islands.
Track Record
negligent
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder and former CEO of Binance, was sentenced to four months in federal prison for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.
Sources: Reuters(opens in new tab)
Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion to settle DOJ charges of violating the Bank Secrecy Act, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and sanctions violations. CEO Changpeng Zhao resigned and pled guilty.
SEC alleged Binance used Sigma Chain, a trading firm owned by CZ, to inflate trading volumes through wash trading. The firm reportedly executed over $300 million in wash trades.
Binance terminated an internal investigator who discovered evidence of $300 million in wash trades by Sigma Chain, a CZ-affiliated market maker, raising concerns about retaliation against whistleblowers.