News Summary

President Donald Trump has issued a pardon for Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Zhao was previously convicted of money laundering charges in 2023, for which he served a four-month prison sentence and stepped down as CEO of Binance. This pardon follows a significant lobbying effort from Binance, aiming to re-establish its operations in the United States after being barred due to the prior conviction. The decision to pardon was framed by the Trump administration as a move against what they described as the Biden administration’s ‘war on cryptocurrency’. The pardon potentially clears the path for Binance to resume its business activities in the U.S.