US President Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of the condemned Giant Cryptocurrency Exchange, a White House official said on Thursday, in the latest in a series of Cryptency Peacher and other criminals.
In a statement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavett said she “exercised her constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the BIDEN PRORTACTIONEST.”
Zhao said in a post on the social media platform x that he is “very grateful for today’s pardon and” for the pardon by President Trump to support America’s commitment to fairness, innovation and justice. ” He added: “We will do everything we can to help America the crypto capital.”
Minance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zhao, a billionaire who is one of the most influential figures in the field of crypto, in 2023 went down as a minance company after the company pleaded guilty to receiving active help in the fight against money and paid a fine of US $ 4.3 billion.
Zhao, a Canadian citizen born in China, paid a $50 million fine and served nearly four months in prison last year after pleading guilty to the same charge. However, he retained his cimbance stake, and his other appointees became the company’s CEO.
The US Constitution gives the President broad powers to issue impeachments to clear criminal convictions, or to commute sentences. Historically, presidents have waited until the end of their terms to exercise such powers, but there is no need for them to do so.
Zhao told the podcaster in May that he applied for a pardon from the Trump Administration, adding that he had never spoken to the President.
News of the pardon was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The latest in a series of pardons
Zhao’s pardon is the latest in a series that has trumpeted crypto executives and entrepreneurs, as well as other white-collar criminals.
While the details of the pardon were yet to be revealed, it did pave the way for Zhao to return to the business he started in 2017. It may also provide an opportunity to grow in the United States as a crypto industry.
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Go back to Joe Beniden’s policies, which are managed to target crypto companies for fraud and fraud.
In March, Trump also pardoned the three founders of the Crypto Exchange BitMex who had pleaded guilty in 2022 for failing to carry out a coordinated Anti-Money Laundering Act.
He also forgave the founder of the electric truck company Nikola, who was convicted of fraud, and passed the sentence of the managers working with Ozy-Up Ozy.
Trump also pardoned in January Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to prison for running the underground Pilter MarketfACleplarpy but remained popular with the crypto community.
