Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has discussed his prison sentence and presidential pardon, claiming that the Biden administration wanted to send a message to the crypto industry with his case.
Biden Admin Crackdown Led CZ To Prison
On Tuesday, Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao shared his thoughts on the Biden administration’s crypto approach and the reasons behind his four-month prison sentence back in 2024.
In a Fox Business interview with Charlie Gasparino, Zhao, also known as CZ, discussed the Biden administration’s crackdown on the digital assets sector, affirming that they were “openly declaring war on crypto” and creating a “very hostile environment” for the industry.
Therefore, he considers that the previous administration targeted him and tried to “make an example” out of him and Binance, as the biggest players in the market. For context, the global exchange also pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2023 and agreed to pay over $4 billion to resolve the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation.
That same year, CZ stepped down as Binance’s CEO after pleading guilty to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations, paying a $50 million penalty. In April 2024, the crypto tycoon was sentenced to four months in prison, which he served between June and September of that year.
Zhao argued that he had a single charge of violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), with no money-laundering charges, “no fraud,” and “no victims,” which initially suggested he would not get a prison sentence.
In US history, no one went to jail for this single one charge. In most cases, (…) people are not being charged. Of the people who are charged, they usually end up with a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). I was the only one who went to prison.
In a recent interview with Scott Melker, CZ revealed that he did not expect to go to jail, noting that he had expected a sentence similar to Arthur Hayes’s home confinement at most.
Zhao also explained that he voluntarily went to the US to plead guilty because he feared that Binance, BNB holders, and the broader crypto industry could be affected if he didn’t cooperate with authorities.
Binance Founder’s Pardon Was ‘A Bit of A Surprise’
Speaking about his pardon, the Binance co-founder shared he was partially surprised when it happened. He affirmed that he expected to be pardoned after US President Donald Trump’s pardon of Ross Ulbricht and Arthur Hayes, and the current administration’s push to make the US “the crypto capital of the world.”
However, “it was a bit of a surprise in terms of timing,” as he did not know when it would happen. “The timing was not known to me; this is a black box process. You submit the petition and just wait. You don’t know what’s going on,” CZ asserted.
On October 23, 2025, the White House announced that President Trump had “exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency.”
Notably, this decision drew major backlash from members of Congress, who questioned the US President’s rationale for granting the pardon and raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest.
CZ told Fox Business that he has no ties to the first family, rejecting claims that he paid to be pardoned. “There’s no business relationship between me and Mr. Trump, his family, or any of his businesses. There’s no investment relationship, no shareholding, nothing.”
Trump has also addressed the controversial pardon, denying any links to the Binance founder and dismissing concerns about the appearance of corruption and pay-for-play.
In November, he explained that he doesn’t know Zhao personally but had heard that his case was part of the Biden administration’s “witch hunt” against the industry and was a “victim of weaponization” like him and many others.
