Binance Founder CZ Surprised By Pardon, Denies Business Links To Trump Family

Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has denied any relationship with United States President Donald Trump and his family. This comes in response to the chatter surrounding Trump’s pardon of him in October 2025.

CZ Says He Has Never Met President Trump

In an interview with FOX News on Friday, November 7, Zhao revealed that he was “a little bit surprised” by the US President’s decision to pardon him. The Binance co-founder pleaded guilty to anti-money-laundering (AML) violations in 2023.

While the former CEO of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange agreed to a significant $4.3 billion fine on behalf of his company, he was forced to resign and received a four-month jail sentence. CZ was released from prison in September 2024, but this presidential pardon expunges his record of a criminal conviction.

Although multiple reports have alleged that Binance and CZ lobbied through business deals for the co-founder’s pardon, there have been several rebuttals to such controversial claims. In a November 3 interview, Trump stated that he did not know the crypto founder, crediting his sons for pushing for the pardon.

Now, CZ has come forward to state that he has no business links with the Trump family or their cryptocurrency project, World Liberty Financial. “That’s completely not accurate. There’s no deal, there has never been any discussions. It’s as simple as that,” the Binance leader said.

CZ also addressed his decision to plead guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, including failure to implement adequate anti-money-laundering measures at Binance. The prominent crypto founder said, “the best way to confront the problem and solve it head-on.”

US Leading In Crypto Regulation: CZ

According to the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s decision to grant clemency to crypto figures was a way to “officially end the Biden administration’s war on the cryptocurrency industry.” In the FOX interview, Zhao highlighted the GENIUS Act as a move in the right direction by the United States regarding leading crypto regulation.

The former Binance CEO believes that the increased regulatory clarity is an excellent development for the crypto industry. “I think in the last administration, even when I was charged and even when I pleaded guilty, there wasn’t any clear regulatory framework for crypto in the US, so I think now it’s getting much clearer, and [the] US is definitely leading,” CZ added.