Trump Pardons Binance Founder CZ, Token Soars 8%

Binance’s native cryptocurrency, BNB, surged by nearly 8% on October 23 after a dramatic political twist — former US President Donald Trump granted a full pardon to Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as CZ.

At 10:35 p.m. IST, the token was trading at $1,132.74, marking a 5.38% daily gain, with a market cap of $157.65 billion and a trading volume of $5.49 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data.

White House calls Zhao a victim of “war on cryptocurrency”

In a statement that stirred the crypto and political worlds alike, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt announced that President Trump had used his constitutional authority to pardon Zhao.

“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,” the White House said, adding that there were “no allegations of fraud or victims.”

Why CZ was convicted

Back in 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws, admitting Binance had not maintained adequate compliance systems. He served four months in prison in 2024 as part of a deal that also saw Binance pay $4.3 billion in settlement with US authorities.

With the pardon now in place, Zhao’s criminal record will be cleared, potentially opening the door for Binance to re-enter the US market — a move that could reshape the crypto industry’s regulatory dynamics.

Trump’s crypto ties under the spotlight

Reports from the Wall Street Journal suggest Binance had been lobbying for nearly a year to secure Zhao’s pardon. The report also linked Binance as a “key supporter” of the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, highlighting a deepening intersection between politics and digital assets.

Political aftershocks

The pardon is already drawing comparisons to Trump’s earlier controversial decisions — including blanket pardons for January 6 Capitol rioters and a sentence reduction for former Republican lawmaker George Santos.

For now, however, the crypto community is celebrating what many see as a symbolic victory. BNB’s surge reflects both renewed investor optimism and the shifting winds of political influence shaping the future of digital finance.