The president, who has been so bitter about Biden’s pardons, suddenly forgot the billionaire whom he pardoned eight days ago. “Coincidentally,” the billionaire’s company helped fuel the Trump family’s crypto boom just months ago. His selective amnesia clearly reeks of a blockchain of corruption, and he’s not even hiding it.
In Oct. 2025, Donald Trump granted a presidential pardon to Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, the founder of Binance. His company is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, but was caught in a money laundering case. Zhao had pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating U.S. anti-money-laundering laws, admitting that Binance allowed transactions tied to criminal and terrorist groups. Prosecutors called it a “significant threat to national security,” and sentenced him to four months in prison in April 2024.
But when Norah O’Donnell, a CBS 60 Minutes correspondent, asked Trump about Zhao, he sat there like a 5-year-old in Algebra. “I don’t know who he is,” he claimed. “I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that.” He also took the chance to call Zhao’s sentencing “a Biden witch hunt.” Something he probably got from his White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt.
Leavitt has also called Zhao’s prosecution under Biden a “war on cryptocurrency.” She attempted to pass the pardon off as a correction of “overreach of the Biden administration’s misjustice.” (via BBC) And even claimed that Biden wanted to “punish the cryptocurrency industry.” But something else played behind the curtains.
Zhao’s company helped a Trump-branded crypto coin explode in value after a $2 billion purchase. So, his pardon was basically bought. Just two months ago, it was reported that Trump’s family-owned crypto outfit, World Liberty Financial, had a business boom. It benefited from “a partnership with an under-the-radar trading platform quietly administered by Binance.” (via WSJ) The deal was not hidden from anyone, yet Trump found a way to twist facts.
“I can only tell you this: My sons are into it. I’m glad they are because it’s probably a great industry. crypto. I think it’s good. You know, they’re running a business. They’re not in government,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zhao publicly thanked Trump for the pardon, which was more like a repayment. In an X post made right after his pardon, he wrote how he is “deeply grateful” to Trump. He also praised the President “for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.” Turning it into a campaign ad, he also promised to “do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance web3 worldwide.”
But people could see right through the sick game. One user on X called out Trump, saying, “From the party that wails about ‘autopen pardons’ comes ‘I know nothing about it.'” Another quipped about the same statement from Trump, reminding exactly who Zhao is:
“He’s the guy who helped set your crypto company up… and made you and your sons over a billion dollars.”
The Biden administration sought to imprison Zhao for three years, but he’s been free since September. The pardon has also lifted restrictions that barred him from running financial ventures. But Trump’s problem isn’t just the appearance of pay-for-play. It’s his corrupted habit of granting clemency to the connected, then pretending total ignorance when receipts surface.
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