Former Binance CEO denies reports, says “no discussion” with Trump over a presidential pardon

• Changpeng Zhao said the Wall Street Journal “got the facts wrong”
• He believes it’s a “motivated attack” on US President Donald Trump and the residual forces of the “war on crypto” from the last administration at work
• In 2023, Zhao resigned as Binance’s CEO as part of a plea deal

Binance’s former CEO has denied a Wall Street Journal report and said he’s had “no discussions” with US President Donald Trump seeking a presidential pardon.

In a post on X, Changpeng Zhao said, “Sorry to disappoint. The WSJ article got the facts wrong. ” He added that he hasn’t discussed a Binance US deal with the Trump family.

He went on to say that “no felon would mind a pardon, especially being the only one in US history who was ever sentenced to prison for a single BSA [Bank Secrecy Act] charge. Feels like the article is motivated as an attack on the President and crypto, and the residual forces of the “war on crypto” from the last administration are still at work.”

4. Sorry to disappoint. The WSJ article got the facts wrong.

More than 20 people have told me they were asked by the WSJ (and another media), “Can you confirm that CZ made some deal for a pardon?”

They probably asked hundreds of people to have 20 people reach out to me. In… https://t.co/ELyDPmKD3G

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) March 13, 2025

According to the WSJ article, talks between Trump’s administration and Binance began last year after the crypto exchange reached out to Trump allies to strike a business deal to bring the exiled company back to America.

$4.3 billion deal

In November 2023, Zhao resigned as Binance’s CEO as part of a $4.3 billion deal with the Department of Justice (DoJ) to drop criminal charges against the crypto exchange.

Zhao also pleaded guilty to breaching the Bank Secrecy Act after violating anti-money laundering procedures at Binance. Zhao was later denied travel to the UAE over concerns of being a flight risk despite offering $4.5 billion in Binance equity as security.

In April 2024, Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison and was released in September of that year.

Presidential pardon

Since returning to the White House, Trump has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road.

Trump gave Ulbricht a full pardon in January after he had spent 12 years in prison. Ulbricht was arrested in 2013, convicted in 2015, and sentenced to two life sentences plus 40 years without parole.

Others who are seeking a presidential pardon include Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents for their son’s involvement in the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and Roger Ver who is calling on Trump to avoid a prison sentence of up to 109 years.