"The pardon caps a monthslong effort by Zhao, a billionaire commonly known as CZ in the crypto world and one of the biggest names in the industry. He and Binance have been key supporters of some of the Trump family's crypto enterprises. Deeply grateful for today's pardon and to President Trump for upholding America's commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice, Zhao said on social media Thursday."
"White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the pardon in a statement and later told reporters in a briefing that the White House counsel's office thoroughly reviewed the request. She said the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden pursued an egregious oversentencing in the case, was very hostile to the cryptocurrency industry and Trump wants to correct this overreach. The crypto industry has also long complained it was subject to a regulation by enforcement ethos under the Biden administration."
"Trump's pardon of Zhao fits into a broad pattern of the his taking a hands-off approach to an industry that spent heavily to help him win the election in 2024. His administration has dropped several enforcement actions against crypto companies that began during Biden's term and disbanded the crypto-related enforcement team at the Justice Department. Former federal prosecutor Mark Bini said Zhao went to prison for what sounds like a regulatory offense, or at worst its kissing cousin."
President Donald Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who created the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange and served prison time for failing to stop criminals from using the platform to move money connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking and terrorism. Zhao and Binance were key supporters of some of the Trump family's crypto enterprises. Zhao expressed deep gratitude on social media for the pardon. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House counsel's office thoroughly reviewed the request and criticized the Biden administration for egregious oversentencing and hostility toward the cryptocurrency industry. The Trump administration has rolled back several Biden-era crypto enforcement actions and disbanded a Justice Department crypto enforcement team.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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