Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) confirmed on October 23 on X that he received an official pardon from former US President Donald Trump.
He wrote:
“Immensely grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for his commitment to the principles of justice, innovation, and honesty. We will do everything possible to make America the capital of crypto and drive web3 worldwide.”
CZ was congratulated by Charles Hoskinson from Cardano. According to him, the previous administration made a serious mistake by starting a campaign against the crypto industry.
“Using the Department of Justice as a weapon against our industry and its founders is a wound that still hurts and will take a long time to heal.”
According to CryptoSlate, following the news, the price of BNB rose by 5.38% — to $1,132. This is still 17% below the all-time high of $1,370, but the market clearly reacted positively.
What’s behind CZ’s pardon: a year of lobbying, rumors, and a new chapter in life
According to sources, the pardon was the result of almost a year of behind-the-scenes pressure from Changpeng Zhao’s legal team.
Back in May, he admitted that his lawyers had filed a petition for a pardon. After that, traditional media began to speculate: allegedly, there was a financial connection between entities close to Trump and Binance. There was also discussion of a possible plea deal targeting other figures in the crypto world, such as Tron founder Justin Sun.
CZ responded by rejecting these claims, calling them politically motivated and “not based on a single fact.”
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Recall that in November 2023, Zhao stepped down as head of Binance after pleading guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws. He received four months in prison and was released in September 2024.
Since then, he has repeatedly emphasized that he does not intend to return to Binance. He is now focused on new directions: blockchain research, AI investments, and the educational project Giggle Academy.
Insider trading?
The news of CZ’s pardon quickly spread to the market and led to unexpected results.
On the prediction platform Polymarket , a trader named Garrett Jin bet that Donald Trump would pardon Zhao this year. After the information was confirmed, his investment turned into about $56,000 profit, according to Arkham Intelligence.
Garrett Jin is already known in the crypto community for his almost supernatural accuracy in predicting major events. At the beginning of the month, he opened large short positions on Bitcoin and Ether on Hyperliquid — literally moments before Trump announced 100% tariffs on imports from China.
The volume of Jin’s shorts exceeded $700 million. According to analysts, they brought him from $160 to $200 million in profit — after the market crashed within hours of Trump’s tariff announcement.
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And now, a new trade, right before the news of CZ’s pardon. Such a sequence of “lucky” bets has again fueled suspicions: is there access to insider information straight from the White House?
Jin himself categorically denies any connection with the Trump family.
Nevertheless, these coincidences clearly show how quickly the crypto market reacts to any political news from Washington and how each one can now become a catalyst for multimillion-dollar deals.
