In a surprising political move, former President Donald Trump has issued a pardon for Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. This decision comes after extensive negotiations between the Trump family and Zhao, raising eyebrows among both supporters and critics of the former President. Concerns have been voiced about Trump’s increasingly close relationship with Zhao, who is widely known as ‘CZ.’ The 48-year-old, based in Abu Dhabi, was sentenced to a four-month prison term in 2024 for breaching anti-money-laundering provisions under the Bank Secrecy Act.

Following his release, Zhao has expressed his commitment to transforming the United States into the leading hub for cryptocurrency. Binance, under his leadership, has been actively seeking a presidential pardon, aiming to reinstate its operations in the U.S., after being banned in 2023. The Wall Street Journal first reported the pardon, highlighting its potential implications for Binance’s future. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the media, describing the case as excessively prosecuted by the Biden administration. She mentioned that even the presiding judge considered the sentencing to be severe, attributing it to the previous administration’s antagonistic stance.

The pardon did not sit well with many, including Trump’s own supporters. Joe Lonsdale, a billionaire tech entrepreneur and Trump donor, voiced his discontent on social media platform X. “I admire President Trump, but these pardons are troubling,” Lonsdale remarked. He likened the pardons to “hit-by-pitches,” suggesting they were missteps. Lonsdale further criticized the advice Trump received, arguing that it could give the impression of widespread fraud within Trump’s orbit concerning cryptocurrency matters.

Journalist Isaac Saul added: ‘Changpeng Zhao is comically corrupt. And he just successfully won a pardon from Trump by boosting the Trump family crypto coin. ‘I mean, this is a months-long scandal in any other normal administration.’ Since Trump was elected, Binance has played a large role in supporting Trump’s family crypto venture World Liberty Financial (WLF), the vehicle responsible for most of the President’s new wealth generation.

WLF, which is led by Trump’s sons and Zach Witkoff, son of Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, recently announced a $2 billion investment fund in the United Arab Emirates, where CZ lives, for the nation to purchase a stake in Binance using USD1, a crypto coin operated by WLF. WLF is expected to profit off of the deal as the company makes money when its coins, like USD1, are used for transactions. Binance has also encouraged its users to trade USD1 on its platform.

The Trump-backed crypto firm has boasted about its connections to CZ, who is by all measures the most successful crypto entrepreneur in history through his creation of Binance and investments in other industry projects. Trump has granted over 1,500 pardons and commutations since taking office in January.

On Inauguration Day, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 individuals for offenses related to the January 6 Capitol riot. He has also given pardons this year to former Republican lawmakers George Santos, Michael Grimm and John Rowland. Reports indicate that Fred Daibes, a New Jersey businessman convicted of bribing ex-Senator Bob Menendez, Democrat for New Jersey, with $1 million worth of gold bars, is also seeking help from Trump to avoid his seven-year prison sentence.