President Donald Trump granted a full pardon to Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Chao, ending nearly a year of political conflict over the most high-profile case in cryptocurrencies.
The decision comes after more than 11 months of lobbying, closed-door meetings, and direct appeals, finally persuading the “crypto president” to sign the pardon on Wednesday, following CZ’s four-month prison sentence, which Binance served after pleading guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws.
Sources reportedly told The Wall Street Journal that CZ personally drove efforts to improve relations between Binance and the Trump family business, particularly after the Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, was launched earlier this year.
Binance reportedly helped with the liquidity infrastructure and backend tools and was one of the early backers of the project.
President Trump puts an end to the crypto war with White House statement
“President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by pardoning Mr. CZ, who was prosecuted by the Biden administration in the crypto war,” White House press secretary Caroline Levitt told them, according to the Journal.
She added that “the Biden administration’s crypto war is over.”
The deal banned Binance from doing business in the United States and forced it to move most of its operations overseas.
The latest amnesty paves the way for Binance’s possible return to the American market, the Journal reported. say It has been secretly planned for months.
The company has spent nearly a year pushing for CZ’s release and rehabilitation in Washington. Earlier this year, Binance secured political support and brought in lobbyist Ches McDowell to persuade lawmakers that CZ’s case was overblown under the Biden administration’s Justice Department.
This hire, along with multiple meetings between Binance representatives and Trump campaign officials, reportedly helped shape the president’s view that the prosecution was politically driven.
Neither CZ nor Binance have made any public comments since the amnesty was signed, but WJS notes that the companies have been advised to remain silent until they receive formal permission from U.S. regulators to resume operations. Meanwhile, Trump is said to have told his advisers that he sympathizes with CZ’s claims of “political persecution.”
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