Trump pardons CZ The War on "Binance" Is over

President Donald Trump issued a full pardon to Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, the CEO of Binance, the globe's largest crypto exchange by trading volume. This move, coming just months into a partnership between Trump's Liberty World Financial and Binance sparking debates on everything from regulatory overreach to the blurring lines between politics and profit.

Changpeng ZhaoZ's Backstory: Building a crypto an Empire Bianance

A Canadian tech entrepreneur of Chinese descent, founded Binance in 2017. By 2023, it commanded over $1.5 trillion in annual trading volume, per CoinMarketCap data, dwarfing competitors like Coinbase (around $300 billion). But growth came with scrutiny. In November 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty in Seattle federal court to one count under the Bank Secrecy Act: willfully failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program.

The charges stemmed from Binance's operations, which U.S. prosecutors alleged facilitated $100 billion in suspicious transactions from 2017-2023, including flows to sanctioned entities and darknet markets. No personal fraud was alleged against Zhao, but the exchange's lapses enabled violations of U.S. sanctions and unlicensed money transmission. Zhao stepped down as CEO, paying a $50 million personal fine on top of Binance's corporate penalties.

Witty aside: In crypto, where "decentralized" is the buzzword, centralizing blame on one exec feels almost... wrong.

The $4.3 Billion Biden Hammer: Binance's DOJ Deal

Binance's 2023 settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) clocked in at $4.3 billion—the largest-ever corporate penalty for AML violations, eclipsing HSBC's $1.9 billion fine in 2012. This included $2.5 billion in forfeiture, $1.5 billion in restitution, and $300 million in criminal fines.

Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland noted at the time: Binance's crimes "became the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange,". Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen echoed this, estimating $20 billion in evaded sanctions compliance costs from 2018-2022 alone.

Zhao wasted no time on X (formerly Twitter), posting: "Deeply grateful... Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto." Binance followed suit: "CZ’s vision... shaped the broader crypto movement," thanking Trump for positioning the U.S. as a "crypto capital."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt 'The War on Crypto is over'

On the flip side, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, labeled it "corruption." She tied it to pending market structure bills, warning of "lawlessness" if unchecked. Public sentiment? A Reuters/Ipsos poll from October 24 showed 52% of Americans viewing the pardon as politically motivated, versus 31% seeing it as justice served.

Trump's Crypto:World Liberty Financial Takes Gains

Enter World Liberty Financial (WLF), the Trump family's crypto venture launched in fall 2024. Since the November 2024 election, WLF has generated $4.5 billion in revenue, primarily through tokenized real estate and DeFi lending on Solana, per SEC filings. A Wall Street Journal report from August 2025 revealed a "quiet partnership" with a Binance-administered trading platform, boosting WLF's liquidity by 25% in Q3 2025 alone.

Fast-forward to September 15, 2025: Binance announced full integration of World Liberty Financial USD (USD1), a WLF-issued stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, on the Solana network.

Deposits and withdrawals opened immediately, with initial volume exceeding $150 million in the first week, per Binance's on-chain analytics.

Pardon of CZ from Trump is a Conflict of Interest...

The timeline invites scrutiny: Binance's USD1 integration predates the pardon by five weeks, but lobbying ramps up questions. In September 2025, Binance retained Checkmate Government Relations for $450,000 monthly, targeting "executive relief" and crypto policy at the White House and Treasury. Lobbyist Charles McDowell, a Donald Trump Jr. associate, led efforts.

- Additionally Coinbase has just donate to the east wing reconstruction...

Federal ethics rules (5 CFR § 2635) bar officials from actions benefiting immediate family finances, yet WLF's Binance ties (facilitating $300 million in USD1 trades tied to Trump-linked wallets by October 2025, per Arkham Intelligence) blurs those lines. No formal investigations are public as of October 26, but the Office of Government Ethics uptick in crypto-related conflict filings in 2025 so far.

A real scandal or, is this just from a terrible prosecution by biden. Stay tuned to find out more .