Binance's Coin Jumps Almost 5% on News of Founder CZ's Presidential Pardon

From prosecution to pardon

According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump signed the order on Wednesday after telling advisers he believed Zhao had been the target of “political persecution.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the decision officially ends what she called the Biden administration’s “war on cryptocurrency.”

Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating US anti-money laundering laws and served a four-month sentence. Binance paid a record $4.3bn fine and was placed under a three-year Justice Department monitorship. The company was barred from operating in the US until further notice.

Binance’s lobbying push

The Journal reports that Binance spent nearly a year pursuing the pardon, hiring lobbyist Ches McDowell to help its case. Since Trump’s election, the exchange has also become a major supporter of the Trumps' World Liberty Financial crypto venture, a business that has significantly boosted the president’s family wealth.

BNB responded instantly to the announcement, jumping from about $1,086 to a peak of $1,160 within 40 minutes of the news breaking, a sharp rise of almost 5% at 15:09-10 UTC, according to a composite price for the coin on TradingView. At 16:15, BNB was trading at around $1,130.

A pardon could accelerate Binance’s return to the US and may end the Justice Department’s monitorship early, though a separate Treasury-imposed programme would remain in place unless rescinded.

Political and regulatory fallout

Democrats on Capitol Hill are expected to challenge the move, having already requested details of any financial ties between Binance and World Liberty Financial. Zhao’s conviction had complicated the firm’s global licensing and banking relationships; his pardon now removes a key obstacle as the exchange seeks to rebuild US access.

Zhao founded Binance in 2017 and grew it into the world’s largest crypto-trading platform with around 300mn users. He is the second crypto executive pardoned by Trump this year, following BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes in March.