Trump mulls pardon for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao amid concerns over optics: Fox News

Discussions within the White House concerning the possibility of U.S. President Donald Trump pardoning Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao could be advancing, according to a report.

"People close to CZ, the former Binance chief ... say discussions inside the White House are heating up on the possibility of a pardon from," Fox Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino posted to X on Friday. "Many Trump insiders believe the fraud case against [CZ] was pretty weak, and certainly not something that merited a felony conviction and jail time."

In May, CZ said on a podcast that he applied for a pardon from President Trump following his release from prison last year. The Wall Street Journal reported in March that CZ had asked for a pardon, which he denied at the time.

Gasparino said Friday that sources say Trump "is leaning toward a pardon, which could set the stage for CZ's return to the crypto exchange since he remains Binance's largest shareholder," although adding the administration is concerned about the "optics" of a pardon given the president's involvement in the digital assets space. Trump's family has become deeply involved in crypto with various projects.

In the wake of Friday's report, the odds of CZ securing a presidential pardon shot up significantly on the prediction platform Kalshi, jumping over 20%.

Axios reported in September that Binance CEO Richard Teng said that although CZ is the crypto exchange's largest shareholder, his plea agreement with the U.S. government included a lifetime ban.

Zhao was released from prison last year after being sentenced to four months. He pled guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an "effective anti-money laundering program." He was also fined $50 million, while Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion as part of one of the largest corporate settlements on record.