The White House has accelerated negotiations for a possible pardon of high-profile crypto mogul Changpeng “CZ” Zhao — sparking a fierce debate within the administration over optics as Trump’s family closes a wave of crypto deals, the Post has learned.
The 48-year-old founder of crypto exchange giant Binance – who spent four months in US prison last year – said in May that he had asked President Trump for a pardon from his guilty plea to a single count of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and failing to maintain proper anti-money laundering controls when he was CEO of Binance.
Friday, this journalist announced the news on that discussions at the White House have recently intensified over the possibility of a pardon from Trump, which could pave the way for CZ’s return to Binance, since he remains the company’s largest shareholder.
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“Great news if true,” CZ wrote in response, adding four praying hands emojis.
Some close to the president believe that the case against CZ was rather weak – and did not merit a felony charge and prison time. It’s unclear what the president’s position is on the pardon, although people familiar with the matter say he sympathizes with Zhao’s cause. Indeed, many in the $4.2 trillion crypto industry believe CZ was unfairly caught up in a sweeping 2023 crypto crackdown by the Biden administration that amounted to legal overreach.
To settle the charges, Binance paid a $4.3 billion fine and adopted new rules to prevent bad actors from using its platform to finance their operations. Zhao, meanwhile, paid $50 million in fines and agreed to resign as CEO of Binance.
For his part, Zhao has been open about his desire for a pardon, which would also erase a black mark on his resume that prevents highly regulated investment firms from doing business with convicted felons. Binance could also benefit from a possible lifting of state bans on its activities following Zhao’s conviction.
Complicating things for Zhao, however, are the president and his family’s growing business interests in crypto, some of which include partnerships with Binance, and even Zhao himself. Democrats like Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal have challenged the possible pardon in the context of the Trump family’s crypto business dealings, sources said.
“There are people in the White House who are worried about the optics and political consequences if Trump pardons someone as important to the crypto industry as CZ,” said a person with knowledge of the White House deliberations.
A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Zhao’s lawyer, Tersea Goody Guillen, who is believed to be leading the lobbying for a pardon, did not return a call or email seeking comment. Goody Guillen, a former SEC attorney with crypto experience, is a partner at the firm Baker Hostetler.
Eleanor Terrett, editor of the widely read newsletter Crypto In America, says many top crypto executives, including those with ties to the Trump White House, believe the severity of Zhao’s charges and prison sentence are the result of the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange.
Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, is serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud and misusing FTX client funds to finance his lavish lifestyle and sideline trading operation. Its activities went unnoticed during the early part of the Biden administration’s crypto crackdown — even as SBF became a major donor to Democratic politicians, including the former president.
“CZ was not charged with fraud like SBF and many in the industry view his prison sentence as the result of regulators – always with egg on their faces, post-FTX – making an example of anyone in crypto who operated in or around the United States,” Terrett said.
