The White House recently announced that President Trump has granted a pardon to Mr. Zhao, a decision that has sparked considerable debate. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explained that Trump exercised his constitutional authority in this matter, arguing that the Biden administration’s prosecution of Zhao was part of a broader campaign against cryptocurrency.
Leavitt criticized the severity of Zhao’s sentencing, a sentiment echoed by President Trump and his advisors. This decision follows a determined lobbying effort by Binance, Zhao’s company, which sought clemency for their CEO, commonly known as CZ. Leavitt mentioned her discussions with the White House counsel, asserting that Zhao’s case was excessively prosecuted due to what she labeled as the Biden administration’s unfriendly stance towards the crypto industry.
Zhao is not the first figure from the cryptocurrency world to receive clemency from Trump during his tenure. Shortly after resuming office, Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, a prominent figure within libertarian crypto circles. Ulbricht had been serving a life sentence for his role in creating Silk Road, a marketplace the Justice Department described as one of the most complex and widespread criminal networks on the Internet.
Additionally, Justin Sun, a wealthy Chinese entrepreneur heavily invested in World Liberty Financial, faced civil fraud charges in the United States during Biden’s administration. His case is another example of the legal challenges faced by cryptocurrency leaders under the previous administration.
Shortly after returning to office, Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, a cause celebre of the Libertarian crypto world, who had been serving a life sentence for creating the Silk Road marketplace, which the Justice Department had described as “the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet today.”
Justin Sun, the Chinese crypto billionaire who poured tens of millions of dollars into World Liberty Financial soon after it launched, had been facing civil fraud charges in the United States under the Biden administration.
