President Trump granted a full pardon to Changpeng Zhao, the former Binance CEO who pleaded guilty in 2023 to federal anti-money-laundering violations and served four months in prison. The pardon removes Zhao's federal conviction and signals a sharp change in how the current administration intends to treat crypto industry figures prosecuted under prior enforcement regimes. Binance remains the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume.
A presidential pardon for the highest-profile crypto criminal conviction in US history tells the market that regulatory hostility toward major crypto platforms is softening at the federal level. That directly benefits exchange tokens, large-cap crypto assets, and any ETF or fund with meaningful crypto exposure. Investors who have been pricing in sustained enforcement risk may now unwind that discount.
Next FOMC rate decision: June 17-18. SEC crypto enforcement policy update: watch for formal guidance, expected in summer 2025. Binance US regulatory status review: ongoing.
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