Binance (CRYPTO: BNB) founder and billionaire Changpeng Zhao expressed his gratitude on Thursday after being pardoned by President Donald Trump and pledged to advance the U.S. cryptocurrency industry.
Zhao Commits To Making US Crypto Capital
Zhao, popularly referred to as CZ, wrote on X, “Deeply grateful for today's pardon and to President Trump for upholding America's commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice. Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance web3 worldwide.”
Trump Says CZ ‘Persecuted’ By Biden Administration
Speaking to reporters at White House, Trump said that he doesn’t know CZ personally and never met him, but he was told by a “lot of people” that CZ didn’t commit any crime and was “persecuted” by the Joe Biden administration.
“So I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of good people,” Trump added.
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Binance’s Links With Trump’s Crypto Ventures
Notably, World Liberty Financial USD (USD1), a Trump family-backed stablecoin, was chosen to close Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX‘s $2 billion deal with Binance earlier this year.
Reports have also emerged stating that Binance allegedly helped write the core code for the dollar-pegged stablecoin, but CZ denied these claims.
The presidential pardon marks the end of a legal battle that began when CZ was convicted of violating U.S. anti-money-laundering laws. He paid a $50 million fine, stepped down as the company CEO and subsequently served four months in prison.
Zhao founded Binance in 2017, which has since grown to become the world's largest cryptocurrency trading platform. According to Forbes, he is the richest cryptocurrency mogul, with a net worth exceeding $85 billion.
Price Action: At the time of writing, BNB was exchanging hands at $1,133.75, up 4.68% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Year-to-date, the coin has soared 60%.
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