Binance's CZ denies rumors of Trump pardon

A Chinese media outlet allegedly circulated rumors that US President Donald Trump had pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ). However, CZ echoed the denial in a post on X while Binance co-founder Yi He also dismissed online rumors.

This comes after CZ recently confirmed that his legal team formally applied for a pardon from Trump, and the application was submitted in April. However, the former Binance CEO has publicly disputed aspects of those reports and denied any active business negotiations involving Binance US or Trump’s inner circle.

No Trump pardon for Binance’s CZ yet

Indicating towards the reports suggesting a pardon from Trump, CZ stated in an X post that fake news is spreading around, and most likely, the reports are seeded by a Chinese competitor. He added that the original news articles have been deleted after CZ and the team informed them. He asked outlets to verify with official sources before believing in any fake news, while marking it as FUD 4.

Former Binance CEO also shared Trump’s post, in which the president addressed some hoaxes. Trump wrote, “fake news CNN, together with the failing New York Times, have teamed up in an attempt to demean one of the most successful military strikes in history.”

Fake news everywhere… 😂🤷‍♂️ https://t.co/N72vdBcxmD

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) June 25, 2025

The speculation originated from a Chinese crypto media outlet, reportedly BlockBeats, which published and later deleted an article suggesting CZ had been pardoned. Yi He addressed the issue directly in a message to Chinese blockchain news platform Odaily Planet Daily, clarifying that no such pardon had been granted.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice’s official pardon database shows no indication that Zhao has received a pardon to date.

CZ has publicly confirmed that he applied for a presidential pardon

Zhao was sentenced in April 2024 to four months in US federal prison after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance. He was released in September and has since kept a low public profile.

The case also led to one of the largest corporate settlements in US history, where Binance paid $4.3 billion in penalties. Zhao personally paid a $50 million fine.

The Binance founder has confirmed, speaking on a podcast, that he applied for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. CZ said his lawyers filed the request following Bloomberg and WSJ reports linking him to the Trump camp.

Trump has previously issued pardons to prominent crypto figures, including Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and the three BitMEX co-founders, including Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed. The pardons were part of a broader push by Trump-era allies to cultivate a more crypto-friendly stance in Washington.

In the wake of the false report, Binance’s native token BNB price surged higher but quickly flattened. BNB went on to hit $650 mark before dropping back to $644 level. BNB is trading at an average price of $644.2 at the press time.

On the other hand, the OFFICIAL TRUMP price has taken a 2% hit over the last 24 hours. The price is on a decline, having dropped by 30% in the past 30 days, yet it is up by 655% year to date. TRUMP is trading at an average price of $9.12.

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