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Changpeng Zhao, the co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance who pleaded guilty to criminal charges relating to improper money laundering controls, has been pardoned by Donald Trump.
“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,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“The Biden administration pursued Mr Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims,” Leavitt added in a statement. “The Biden administration’s war on crypto is over.”
Zhao co-founded Binance in 2017 and it has since grown to become the world’s largest crypto exchange.
In 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to a US criminal charge of failure to protect against money laundering, while Binance pleaded guilty to a breach of international financial sanctions and anti-money laundering regulations. The exchange agreed to pay about $4.3bn in penalties.
US prosecutors had sought a three-year prison term for Zhao, who was eventually sentenced to four months in 2024.
Zhao joins a growing list of crypto executives who have been pardoned by the president, including Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht and employees of the BITMEX crypto exchange.
Trump companies have made more than $1bn in pre-tax profits from crypto ventures over the past year, the Financial Times reported this month.
This is a developing story
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