A Graph Review: CZ Zhao Changpeng's Conviction and Imprisonment to Trump's Pardon

In November 2023, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) pleaded guilty to U.S. Department of Justice charges, including anti-money laundering failures, and resigned as CEO. Binance agreed to a record $4.3 billion criminal settlement.
He was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024, where he endured harsh conditions before his release in early September 2024.
Post-release, CZ traveled between the UAE and Hong Kong to rebuild political and business ties.
In March 2025, Binance received a $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi's MGX sovereign wealth fund, settled using USD1, a stablecoin linked to the Trump family. USD1 later launched on BNB Chain.
CZ formally applied for a presidential pardon from the Trump administration in April 2025 and re-emerged on the Chinese crypto scene.
By September 2025, he changed his X profile back to "@binance," signaling a potential return.
In October 2025, BNB was listed on major U.S. platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood, entering the mainstream U.S. financial system.
On October 23, 2025, President Trump pardoned CZ, overturning his conviction. The White House declared an end to the "war on cryptocurrency," and CZ pledged to help make the U.S. the "capital of cryptocurrency."
Trump later stated he didn't know CZ personally but pardoned him because many believed he was "persecuted rather than committing a crime."

On November 21, 2023, Zhao Changpeng pleaded guilty to charges brought by the US Department of Justice, admitting that Binance failed to effectively implement anti-money laundering and customer due diligence procedures, violating the Bank Secrecy Act, and resigned as CEO. Binance agreed to a $4.3 billion criminal settlement, the largest fine in the history of the US crypto industry and one of the largest corporate penalties in US judicial history.

On April 30, 2024, a federal court in Seattle sentenced Zhao Changpeng to four months in prison. He stated that he "voluntarily paid the political fine." He was imprisoned that day and endured humiliating body searches and harsh prison life.

He was released from prison in early September 2024 and began traveling between the UAE and Hong Kong to rebuild political and business relations.

In March 2025, Binance received a $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, MGX. Transactions were settled in USD1, a stablecoin associated with the Trump family. CZ posed for a photo with USD1 co-founder Zach Witkoff (son of a Trump envoy). Two weeks later, USD1 launched on BNB Chain.

In April 2025, Changpeng Zhao formally submitted an application for presidential pardon to the Trump administration.

From April to August 2025, he appeared in Hong Kong many times and returned to the Chinese encryption stage.

September 17, 2025
CZ changed the X account profile from “ex-@binance” back to “@binance”, which was seen as a regression signal.

October 22, 2025
Coinbase and Robinhood have successively opened BNB trading, and BNB has entered the mainstream compliant financial system in the United States for the first time.

October 23, 2025 (EST)
President Trump signed a pardon, overturning Zhao Changpeng's criminal conviction. The White House declared, "The Biden administration's war on cryptocurrency is over." Zhao Changpeng immediately posted a message of gratitude: "Thank you, President Trump, for this pardon. I will do everything in my power to help make the United States the capital of cryptocurrency."

US President Trump's latest response to why he pardoned Zhao Changpeng: I don't know him, but many people say he was persecuted rather than committing a crime!