Trump pardons convicted Binance founder Changpeng Zhao

Donald Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, after Zhao served time for failing to prevent criminal activity on the platform. Zhao’s platform facilitated money movement connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking, and terrorism. Trump previously launched World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture, and reported significant earnings from it last year. World Liberty Financial's stablecoin, USD1, is pegged to the U.S. dollar, aligning with Binance. An investment fund will use USD1 to purchase a stake in Binance. Zhao himself has sought a pardon from Trump. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the Biden administration targeted Zhao to punish the crypto industry. Leavitt mentioned the lack of fraud allegations or identifiable victims despite Zhao's guilty plea. Zhao expressed deep regret for his actions in court.