Key Highlights:
- Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has been pardoned by President Donald Trump for failing to maintain effective anti-money laundering controls at Binance.
- Senator Warren criticizes the pardon and calls it favouritism.
- The price of BNB token surged after the pardon.
Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) was granted full pardon by President Donald Trump yesterday, October 23, 2025. The President described the decision as a part of a “war on cryptocurrency.” The president described CZ’s conviction as a “war on crypto.” CZ, who served a four-month prison sentence for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program at Binance, faced critical public scrutiny after the pardon was announced.
Senator Elizabeth Warren Criticizes
Right after the pardon was announced, Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Binance founder CZ and said that the decision reflected favouritism towards politically connected people. This criticism was posted on social media platform X (formerly known as X).
According to the post, she highlighted that the founder had been pleaded guilty and served time in prison for the same. However, CZ later helped fund President Trump’s stablecoin, which got him this pardon.
According to the post, this move is a clear sign of corruption. She further warned users that Congress is somewhere responsible for this corruption and should own up to it.
CZ Responds to the Criticism and Clarifies His Stance
CZ, later on, responded back to Elizabeth Warren’s post and cleared up his stance. According to the post by Warren, the founder was pleaded guilty for money laundering charges. To this CZ’s attorney, Teresa Goody Guillen, had already clarified in an individual post, that he was solely convicted for compliance failure at Binance and was not charged for money laundering or fraud.
CZ, on the other hand, in his post made a strong emphasis that there were no victims in his case and he has never had any prior criminal history. Through his response, he also implied that the narrative suggesting that he committed serious financial crimes is misleading and incorrect and wanted to clear the air about his conviction.
CZ combined his statements along with his lawyer’s explanation. He wanted to make sure that the public knew that his legal battle was only limited to regulatory compliance and did not involve any criminal wrongdoing.
Moreover, the founder and former CEO also implied that his prosecution was politically motivated and was a part of a “war on crypto” that was being led by the Department of Justice under the Biden administration at that time.
According to him, his critics were using government ties and rules that went after him and the entire crypto industry ruthlessly, and highlighted the fact that his troubles were mainly influenced by politics.
Background on CZ’s Legal Issues
Back in November 2023, CZ was found guilty in a U.S. federal court on charges related to failing to maintain effective anti-money laundering (AML) controls at Binance. As a result of his conviction, CZ was sentenced to four months in prison, which was served by the former CEO in 2024.
During this period, he had to step down from the CEO position at Binance. The company also had to pay a hefty $4.3 billion fine. As CZ and Teresa clarified today, his legal troubles were all because of regulatory failures and not criminal intent.
Impact on BNB Chain
As soon as CZ was convicted for his charges, the price of the BNB token dropped and the prices fluctuated. This price fluctuation indicated investor uncertainty and concerns over Binance’s operational future.
However, there were shifts in sentiments and BNB resurged. During the months of September and October 2025, the token managed to reach new record highs.
As soon as CZ’s pardon was announced, the price of the BNB token jumped. At press time, the price of the token stands at $1,139.03 with an increase of 3.72% in the last 24 hours as per CoinMarketCap.
This pardon has also ignited discussions on prediction markets like Polymarket about the possibility of a similar pardon for Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of FTX.
Also Read: Polymarket: 16% Chance Sam Bankman-Fried Is Released in 2024 After Trump Pardons Binance’s CZ
