Last week, a piece of news caused a stir in the industry. On October 22nd, President Trump unexpectedly signed a pardon for CZ at the White House, publicly announcing the pardon the following day. White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt issued a statement stating, "The President, exercising his constitutional authority, has pardoned Mr. CZ, who was indicted in the Biden Administration's war on cryptocurrency. The Biden Administration's war on cryptocurrency is over." Although news of Zhao Changpeng's application for pardon had circulated as early as March of this year, the news, now finalized, still sparked a heated market reaction. Following the pardon, arguably the first of its kind in the Chinese cryptocurrency world, BNB prices surged, along with BTC and ETH, which saw a rare synergy. Talk of Binance returning to the US has resurfaced. From paying a hefty fine and being jailed to now being pardoned and honored by multiple presidents, Zhao Changpeng's tortuous journey has become another legendary story in the cryptocurrency world. Back in November 2023, Binance reached a resolution with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regarding investigations into Binance's historical registration, compliance, and sanctions issues. Zhao Changpeng ultimately pleaded guilty to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and the Commodity Exchange Act, including conducting unlicensed money transmission business, conspiracy charges, and prohibited transactions. He paid a hefty fine of $4.368 billion, the largest fine ever imposed by FinCEN. At the time, market sentiment widely circulated that Changpeng Zhao, the Chinese-American head of the world's largest exchange, was being politically persecuted. There were indeed signs of this persecution. Zhao's initial prison sentence was expected to be 18 months, and the Department of Justice initially raised it to three years. However, after his voluntary confession and surging public opinion, he was ultimately sentenced to four months in prison by a federal court in Seattle in April 2024. Zhao recalled undergoing a humiliating body search on his first day of imprisonment, and his first cellmate was a double murderer. He described this period of imprisonment as "the most difficult time of my life." In September 2024, Zhao Changpeng was released from prison after serving his sentence. Clearly, this imprisonment left Zhao with far more than just pain. More profoundly, it taught him that cryptocurrencies are borderless, but the law is not. Even the crypto industry must learn to navigate the political landscape. At the same time, as the helmsman of the largest crypto exchange, Zhao Changpeng's identity as Chinese in the United States seems quite delicate, carrying both political implications and the ever-present stigma of being "out of our element," even though, by nationality, he is Canadian through and through. Against this backdrop, finding a "big tree" to shelter him from the elements becomes particularly crucial. Perhaps for this reason, after his release from prison in September, Zhao Changpeng has frequently traveled to the UAE and Hong Kong, uncharacteristically meeting with various regulators and beginning to rebuild his political identity from the ground up. Following the November election, with Trump's rise to power, crypto has entered a new era, and Binance and Zhao Changpeng seem to have found an opportunity. In March 2025, Binance officially announced a $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, MGX, for a 5% stake. Considering Binance's annual revenue exceeding $10 billion, this could only be described as "making a friend." Even more intriguing, the settlement amount for this $2 billion transaction was USD1, a stablecoin launched by the Trump family project, WLFI. Shortly thereafter, Changpeng Zhao posted a photo on social media with WLFI co-founder Zach Witkoff. Two weeks later, USD1 was officially launched on BNB Chain, receiving widespread promotion on the Binance Chain. In April, Changpeng Zhao formally submitted his application for a presidential pardon to the Trump administration. A turning point came in September, when CZ changed the profile on his X account from "ex-@binance" to "@binance," sparking market speculation about his return. Capital investors are even more forewarned. On October 22nd, regulated US trading platforms Coinbase and Robinhood gradually launched BNB trading. Mainstream finance no longer fears Binance, and BNB successfully entered the US financial market. Finally, on October 23rd of this year, Trump signed an executive pardon, vacating Zhao Changpeng's criminal conviction. Here's a brief introduction to pardons. The US Constitutional Convention of 1787 granted the president the power to pardon criminals or commute their sentences under certain circumstances. Pardoned individuals no longer carry federal criminal records, and their sentences may be terminated or lifted. This power is affirmed in Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which grants the president the power to grant reprieves and pardons for violations of federal law, except in cases of impeachment. Therefore, theoretically, the presidential pardon power has a very broad scope. While it cannot pardon those impeached by Congress, it can also pardon anyone who has violated federal law. To date, Trump has signed over 40 pardons, covering approximately 237 individuals, including Changpeng Zhao. From a purely behavioral perspective, since Changpeng Zhao had already completed his sentence and paid his fines, a pardon does not provide a reduction in his sentence, nor does it waive any fines owed. This means the pardon's symbolic significance far outweighs its practical significance. Through a pardon, Changpeng Zhao's criminal record can be erased, his wealth and wealth restored, further enabling his upward mobility in politics and resources. In an interview with Caixin in September of this year, Changpeng Zhao also mentioned that he would devote more energy to his venture capital firm YZi Labs and had been invited to serve as an official crypto industry advisor to multiple governments. His clean record clearly allows him to further his potential political career. Just three days ago, Changpeng Zhao attended the second in-person meeting of the National Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Committee with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov. Meanwhile, the previous verdict stipulated that Changpeng Zhao must not participate in the management or decision-making activities of Binance for three years after his release. During this period, Binance must be overseen by an independent compliance officer who reports directly to the US Department of Justice. In other words, Binance's every move is under the watchful eye of the US Department of Justice. While compliance supervision is unlikely to be exempted through amnesty, the first restriction on direct management is expected to be lifted, allowing Changpeng Zhao to return to the helm of Binance. In fact, given the current controversies surrounding Binance, the market's attitude towards current CEO Richard Teng is hardly friendly. Furthermore, Binance is expected to return to the US, opening up two-way liquidity, which will have a significant impact on the existing US crypto exchange landscape. The return of a "big boss" is undoubtedly positive for the industry, not only reaffirming Trump's support for the crypto industry but also boosting confidence in it. Following the news, BNB surged 7%, returning above $1,100. This also led to a surge in major currencies, with Bitcoin returning to $110,000 and Ethereum heading towards $4,000. This had a ripple effect. First, MEME coins on Binance saw a collective short-term surge. Binance Life, which had previously performed well during the National Day holiday, briefly surged from $0.23 to $0.28, a gain of over 20%. Second, listed companies using BNB as a treasury reaped the benefits, with BNB Network Company and Nano Labs both seeing gains. Even Trump's WLFI benefited significantly, reaching $0.14. ALT5 Sigma, a company listed on the WLFI treasury, also saw a 24-hour increase of over 13%. Of course, not everyone is happy with everything, and Trump's opponents are particularly dissatisfied. Looking back at the entire timeline—from frequent meetings with the UAE to investments in Abu Dhabi, from photos with the WLFI co-founders to stablecoin support, from applying for a pardon to its successful completion—we can clearly see a subtle connection between Zhao Changpeng and the political world. In simple terms, it was by riding on Trump's coattails that Zhao Changpeng was able to clear his name. Interestingly, Trump responded to the reason for the pardon by saying, "I don't know him, but many people say he's innocent and being persecuted by the Biden administration." It's unclear whether this statement was a false pretense to hedge risks. Even if true, it only suggests that Changpeng Zhao is quite close to those around the president, not that he truly "doesn't know" Trump at all. Even more coincidentally, just after the pardon, Trump stated in a White House speech that a "good friend and wonderful person, who I wish to remain anonymous," had generously sent a check for $130 million out of his own pocket to cover the shortfall in military pay caused by the Democratic-led government shutdown. This move fueled rumors in the market that this friend might be Changpeng Zhao, and some believe that political donations were the reason for Changpeng Zhao's pardon. While the military pay claim is difficult to verify, the lobbying that has become a standard practice on Wall Street is undoubtedly genuine. Politico, a well-known political media outlet, reported that according to the lobbying firm Checkmate Government Relations, Binance hired Ches McDowell, a close friend of Donald Trump Jr., Trump's eldest son, at the end of September to lobby the White House and the Treasury Department on financial policy issues and administrative relief, paying him $450,000 a month. Cryptocurrency lawyer Teresa Goody Guillén also stated that she received a total of $290,000 in lobbying fees from Binance and Changpeng Zhao this year. Trump's business acumen clearly indicates that Zhao Changpeng's pardon was a significant investment in financial resources. Political opponents quickly launched attacks against Trump, accusing him of ignoring laws and regulations and treating the pardon as a blatant exchange of favors. According to AXIOS, US Senate Democrats are taking steps to formally condemn Trump's pardon of Changpeng Zhao. Some Senate Republicans have criticized the pardon, while Democrats are attempting to leverage it to forge a rare bipartisan alliance to express opposition to the White House's decision. Democrats' attacks on Trump have been ongoing for a long time, and this one likely won't make a splash. Returning to the topic, while Changpeng Zhao's journey to legal compliance has temporarily come to a halt, it's far from over. While he's received favorable treatment under the current administration, siding with one side carries significant risks, and the complexities of a political life are only just beginning. This is why overseas Chinese entrepreneurs are forced to choose to "play both sides" and "play ball." After his release, Changpeng Zhao quickly expressed his gratitude to Trump, stating that he "will do his utmost to help the United States become the capital of cryptocurrency and promote the development of Web3 globally." His remarks focused on the United States, suggesting that Changpeng himself understands that no matter what kind of return he makes, the country that will benefit the most is the United States.
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