BNB has seen a 5.5% price jump following the White House announcement that Binance co-founder has been pardoned by US President Donald Trump, leading some analysts to suggest that a new leg up might be around the corner.
US President Grants Pardon To Binance Founder
On Thursday, the White House revealed that US President Donald Trump had pardoned Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, two years after pleading guilty.
In an official statement, the White House’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that the US President “exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency.”
Leavitt stated that “In their desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden Administration pursued Mr. Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims.”
In 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations while being the CEO of Binance. As part of his plea deal, he stepped down from his position in the crypto exchange and served a four-month prison sentence last year. Additionally, Binance reached a $4.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The White House press secretary affirmed that “these actions by the Biden Administration severely damaged the United States’ reputation as a global leader in technology and innovation,” declaring that “the Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over.”
Notably, there have been rumors that President Trump could grant a pardon to Zhao after January’s pardon of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. In March, the Wall Street Journal reported that Zhao allegedly had been “pushing” a Binance US deal for a pardon since 2024. However, he quickly denied these claims.
In an X post, CZ thanked the Trump Administration, stating that he is “deeply grateful” for the long-awaited pardon and “to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.” The Binance co-founder also pledged to “do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto.”
CZ Pardon Pushes BNB To $1,100
Following the news, BNB saw a 5.5% jump to reclaim the $1,100 mark. The cryptocurrency has recorded a massive rally over the past few months, reaching a new all-time high (ATH) of $1,375 nearly two weeks ago.
Altcoin Sherpa highlighted the altcoin’s price action amid the recent market performance. However, he expressed doubt about whether BNB will “continue being the strongest major or not,” at least in the short term.
He suggested that Solana (SOL) could have a better performance in the coming weeks, arguing that “both ETH and BNB had incredible runs previously and probably need more time to chill out.”
Since last Friday’s correction, BNB has been trading within the $1,050-$1,125 range, failing to break out of the upper level for the past six days. Analyst Open4Profit noted that if the altcoin reclaims the range’s resistance, the price could rally toward its ATH levels and continue its price discovery uptrend toward the $1,500 target.
Market watcher CW pointed out that BNB has two key sell walls ahead, one at the $1,180-$1,190 area and another between the $1,200-$1,220 mark, suggesting that the altcoin could face resistance around these levels if the price breaks out.
As of this writing, BNB is trading at $1,116, a 10.5% increase in the monthly timeframe.
