The White House is intensifying internal talks over a potential presidential pardon for Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the Binance founder and one of the most influential figures in global crypto. The discussions, confirmed by multiple sources, have reportedly gained momentum in recent weeks as President Trump’s family pursues new business partnerships across the digital asset sector.
Sources close to the administration describe a divided White House, with some advisers arguing the case against CZ was “weak” and that his punishment was disproportionate compared to the scale of the offense. Others fear the optics of pardoning a high-profile crypto executive could be politically risky, particularly given the Trump family’s growing ties to the industry, including recent collaborations reportedly involving Binance and Zhao.
Crypto industry leaders widely view Zhao as a scapegoat of the 2023 regulatory crackdown under the Biden administration, which intensified following the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX. Many argue regulators, embarrassed by their failure to catch FTX’s fraud early, overcorrected by aggressively targeting other exchanges.
“CZ wasn’t accused of fraud like SBF,” said Eleanor Terrett, editor of Crypto In America. “His case symbolized how regulators tried to make an example out of a compliant industry leader after FTX’s implosion.”
While the outcome remains uncertain, insiders say President Trump is sympathetic to Zhao’s petition, seeing it as an opportunity to signal a more business-friendly stance toward crypto as his administration deepens engagement with the $4.2 trillion digital asset economy.
