On Thursday, President Donald Trump issued a pardon for Changpeng Zhao, founder of the Binance crypto exchange. Zhao had previously pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering and paid a $4.3 billion penalty.
Senator Warren Criticizes the Pardon
Criticizing the President’s decision, Senator Elizabeth Warren called it an example of political corruption that Congress must address. According to the Wall Street Journal, Zhao and his business associates had supported several initiatives linked to the Trump family’s growing interest in blockchain and a stablecoin project.
Trump reportedly believed that prosecutors had overreacted by pursuing felony charges against Zhao, arguing that the case was weak and did not warrant prison time.
Opening up about the close ties between Zhao and the President, Warren accused the pardon of reflecting political corruption. She alleged that Zhao used his financial resources to back one of Trump’s crypto-related projects and then leveraged that relationship to secure a pardon.
In a post on X, Warren stated:
“CZ pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge and was sentenced to prison. But then he financed President Trump’s stablecoin and lobbied for a pardon. Today, he got it. If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption, it owns it.”
In response, Zhao accused Warren of political bias, noting her past statements declaring a “war on crypto” during the Biden administration. He wrote: “A U.S. senator can’t get her facts right.”
Trump’s Response to the Pardon
When asked about his decision to pardon Zhao, President Trump said that outside recommendations influenced him. Speaking to CNBC, he said: “I don’t know, he was recommended by a lot of people.”
Trump implied that influential figures, likely from business and political circles, had urged him to issue the pardon.
After receiving the pardon, Zhao publicly expressed gratitude and optimism for the future of crypto in the United States. He thanked the President, saying he was “deeply grateful,” and pledged to support U.S. leadership in digital assets through Binance.
Additionally, the Binance coin price surged approximately 8% following the official pardon, according to Bloomberg.
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