Crypto assets connected to Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and US President Donald Trump recorded gains on Thursday after news of the POTUS granting a presidential pardon to CZ broke.
Binance’s native token, BNB, was among the day’s top performers among the top-ranking coins by market cap, counting a price uptick of about 1.2% in the last 24 hours to trade around $1,127, according to data from CoinGecko.
Trump-family-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI), also associated with Binance’s extended network, soared 12.5% from the previous day to reach $0.142 at the time of this publication. The official TRUMP coin meme is also up 2% during the same period, now changing hands just above $5.
A meme coin called “4,” inspired by Zhao’s frequent use of the number in his social media posts as a reason crypto “won’t fail,” surged by 30% to trade above $0.11. Even Aster, the decentralized exchange launched in early October, touted by the exBinance CEO, had a 10% uptick that took it back to levels above $1.14.
Trump pardons former Binance chief
Changpeng Zhao had been sentenced in April 2024 to four months in federal prison after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws.
He was convicted after a lengthy investigation that saw Binance plead guilty and agree to pay $4.3 billion in fines for allowing users to evade sanctions and compliance requirements. Zhao completed his sentence in September 2024.
The pardon issued this week by President Trump effectively clears his record, allowing him to re-enter the financial industry if permitted by regulators, Cryptopolitan reported.
“This was an overly prosecuted case by the Biden administration. So the president wants to correct this overreach of the Biden administration’s misjustice, and he exercised his constitutional authority to do so,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a presser yesterday.
According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, Binance had spent nearly a year advocating for a pardon on Zhao’s behalf. The company reportedly assembled a team of legal and political advisors, lobbying efforts to prove Zhao’s cooperation with authorities and the exchange’s compliance reforms.
Binance received a $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund MGX, which was reportedly paid in World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin.
CZ writes message of gratitude, industry feelings ‘mixed’
Shortly after the news of his presidential pardon flashed on headlines, Zhao posted a message on X appreciating the presidential act.
“I am deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice,” he wrote.
His comments were supported by some high-profile figures in the crypto space like Tron foundation CEO Justin Sun, who congratulated the ex-Binance head, saying: “Congratulations to CZ and to the entire crypto community on reaching this historic moment. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s finally here!”
However, not all members of the crypto community shared the same sentiment. Naysayers argued that the President falsely claimed he pardoned Zhao due to the previous administration US SEC’s regulation by enforcement approach. They strongly believe it sent the wrong message about regulatory standards in crypto.
Leonidas, the host of The Ordinal Show podcast, said the positive comments on CZ were “misplaced hero worship” within the community.
“CZ has spent 7 years fostering a persona on X of being a helpless child that doesn’t know any better, meanwhile, criming his way to a ~$100B net worth. Anyone who takes Binance or CZ’s words at face value when they say things like ‘we don’t charge listing fees’ or ‘we care about community and transparency’ or ‘our business deals with $WLFI have nothing to do with trying to get CZ pardoned’ is completely brainwashed. Stop paying attention to what CZ and Binance say and start paying,” the well-followed crypto influencer complained.
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