In October 2025 he pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, who had pleaded guilty to a money-laundering violation. Binance hosts the Trump family's crypto venture, wrote the code for its stablecoin, and helped arrange a $2 billion foreign investment that added billions in paper wealth to the family. Zhao had personally sought the pardon. <span class='caveat'>The pardon and the ties are on the record; whether it was a trade is not proven.</span>
SourcesThe pardon and the family crypto ties (CNBC) · The connection, NPR
