US President Donald Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, on October 21. The former Binance executive is the latest in a growing list of convicted drug executives to receive penance from the White House.
Even on the campaign trail, Trump has promised to do an about-face on crypto policy and give leeway to individuals like Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. The President cited legislative opportunities from the Biden Administration as a significant motivator.
While starting with Ulbricht in January, the list has grown to include four executives from Exchange Bitmex as well. This has encouraged some high-profile crypto figures behind bars, such as former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, to make overtures to the Trump administration.
As the number of pardons, especially those for high-level crimes, increases under Trump, observers and ethics watchdogs are concerned about corruption.
Ken Kurson, Ripple Board member, Modern Consensus Co-Founder
Pardoned on January 20, 2021
On the morning of the last day of Trump’s first term in office, he pardoned a Ripple Board member and co-founder of the crypto media outlet modern consensus. Ken Kurson, a friend of son-in-law Jared Kushner, was convicted of cyberstalking his ex-wife.
In 2016, Kurson joined the Board of Directors of Ripple, the fintech company associated with XRP (XRP) tokens. He served on the board until 2020, when rioting charges were brought against him.
According to an apology message from the White House, “Mr. Kurson’s ex-wife wrote on his behalf that she did not want this investigation or arrest and, ‘repeatedly asked the FBI to drop it.
Kurson is being considered for a position on the Board of the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2018, he was removed from consideration after the Federal Bureau of Investigation Found Allegations of theft and harassment.
Journalist Deobrah Copaken claimed That Kurson passed him over for a job after she rebuked his sexual advances. Following forgiveness, he said“I was afraid I’d be looking over my shoulder every day.”
Ross Ulbricht, founder of Narcotics Market Silk Road
Pardoned on January 21, 2025
On the second day of his term, Trump Ross Ulbricht pardonedthe founder of Online Narcotics Marketplace Silk Road.
Ulbricht has already served 11 years of a life sentence without parole for running the site, which accepted cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment method. He was convicted under the “Kingpin Clause” for high-level narcotics offenders.
Activists from various backgrounds lobbied for his pardon. Criminal reform groups believe the Kingpin clause is tougher than it needs to be. Libertarian groups believe that selling drugs, while illegal, is not a moral failing, as long as adults buy and sell them willingly. Some in the crypto space saw him as a pioneer of crypto payments despite the fact that they were used to buy illegal drugs online.
Trump write In social reality, “the scum who worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics involved in the modern day government weapon against me.”
Since leaving prison, supporters have Donated thousands of dollars (Some in crypto) To help Ulbricht find his footing outside.
Bitmex executives
Pardoned March 27, 2025
In March, Trump Cryptocurrency Exchange Bitmex Pardons Four Executives: Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Gregory Dwyer and Samuel Reed. All of them are serving different sentences for violating the Bank Secrecy Act.
In February 2022, Hayes and Delo apologized, saying they had willfully failed to “establish, implement and maintain an anti-money laundering program” at the exchange. Reed entered a plea a few weeks later, following Dwyer in August.
Delo was sentenced to 30 months in prison, while Dwyer Reed and Hayes will serve probation and pay fines. The exchange itself was fined $100 million.
Unlike other, more high-profile pardons like Ulbricht or Kurson, the White House has not issued a statement explaining its reasoning. Bitmex also did not comment. Hayes wrote a simple public “Thank you” post to X.
Changpeng Zhao, co-founder of Binance
Pardoned October 23, 2025
Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ” in the crypto industry, was pardoned by Trump on October 21. Zhao received grief for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance, the crypto exchange he helped found.
Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024, which he served. Binance also apologized for violating US money laundering laws after investigators found it was helping users evade sanctions. The exchange paid $4.3 billion in fines.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said That charge is part of a “war on cryptocurrency” under the administration of ex-president Joe Biden. “The President wanted to correct this overreach of a miscarriage of justice by the Biden administration and he used his constitutional authority to do so.”
In X, Zhao wrote that he was “very grateful” for the pardon.
Concerns over Trump Pardons
While the Trump administration has pardoned fewer individuals than, say, former President Barack Obama, the nature of the pardons is different. In Obama’s case, many of the more than 1,300 pardons were for low-level drugs and were granted as part of a broader push for criminal justice reform.
Trump has pardoned high-profile individuals, including political and financial allies. He issued a blanket pardon to the rioters who participated in the January 6 occupation of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC.
This is more problematic in Zhao’s example of forgiveness. Binance, the majority of which Zhao reportedly owns, is is reportedly a significant investor in Trump’s crypto project, World Liberty Financial. According to the New Yorker, the exchange lobbied Lawyers associated with Trump to secure a pardon. Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale said:
University of Minnesota Law professor Richard Painter, who served as George W. Bush’s chief ethics attorney, said, “Corruption scandals typically involve campaign money going to politicians, from both parties … this is the first time the president’s personal businesses and personal money have been involved.”
Not all crypto crimes go unpunished. Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky is sentenced to 12 years in prison For fraud for his role in the meltdown of his investment platform. Jay Clayton, the appointed US attorney who led the prosecution, said the proposed 20-year sentence served as a “critical warning to other entrepreneurs, executives, and promoters in the cryptocurrency industry and in any future industry as not yet alone: fraud is severely punished, regardless of the technology or industry in which it occurs.
Crypto executives behind bars make appeal to Trump
Other crypto executives accused or convicted of wrongdoing have made public demands to receive a pardon from Trump.
Bankman-Fried, who is currently serving 25 years in prison for fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, is reportedly seeking a pardon.
In an interview in February, he said he was Got unfair treatment from Judge Lewis Kaplanwho is also handling a libel suit against Trump. “I know President Trump has a lot of frustration with Judge Kaplan. I certainly did too,” he said.
His parents have also reportedly met with members of the Trump administration to make their son’s case.
Early Bitcoin adopter Roger Ver took a similar tack. After being accused of tax evasion and placed under house arrest in Spain to await extradition to the US, ver claimed that he was a victim of the law. He also released a “documentary” video comparing his situation to attempts to hold Trump legally responsible for the January 6 riots.
Ver did not end up needing forgiveness. He fought extradition and later agreed to pay $50 million in back taxes to the US after admitting wrongdoing.
Anatoly LegKodymov, co-founder of Bitzlato, also made a request. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to time served on July 18, 2024, for processing $700 million from the Russian Dark Web. He has already spent 18 months behind bars.
Ivan Melnikov, vice president of the Russian branch of the International Committee for Human Rights, said, “Anatoly … became a target in a political campaign against the crypto market and talented Russian programmers.”
Ethical concerns have done little to stop other Trump initiatives. As crypto continues to take center stage in American politics, it means there are more high-profile pardons to come.
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