In a revelation that shocked absolutely no one, President Donald J. Trump claimed Sunday he has “no idea” who Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ,” the billionaire co-founder of Binance, is, despite having personally pardoned him just weeks ago.
Appearing on 60 Minutes, Trump brushed off questions about the decision with his trademark blend of bravado and selective amnesia. “Okay, are you ready? I don’t know who he is,” the president said, eyes sparkling with the confidence of a man who definitely knows exactly who he’s talking about.
For context, Zhao had pleaded guilty in 2023 to facilitating money laundering, served a brief four-month sentence, and stepped down from Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange. Since then, he’s kept busy partnering with firms tied to the Trump family, including Dominari Holdings, headquartered in the most humble of settings: Trump Tower, with Trump’s sons sitting conveniently on its board of advisers.
When 60 Minutes host Norah O’Donnell pressed Trump on why he pardoned someone prosecutors accused of harming U.S. national security, Trump responded with the rhetorical equivalent of a shrug. “Witch hunt,” he said, dusting off his favorite two-word get-out-of-jail-free card, this time applied to someone else’s jail.
The president also took the opportunity to wax poetic about cryptocurrency, explaining that the U.S. must “lead in crypto innovation,” or else China would win. Observers noted that the statement coincided with Trump’s own crypto company launching a new “patriot-themed” stablecoin, which, totally coincidentally, is being used in a $2 billion investment deal with Binance.
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt labeled Zhao’s prosecution “part of the Biden administration’s war on cryptocurrency,” insisting the pardon was merely Trump correcting a “misjustice,” a bold new word for bold new times. She did not address whether the pardon had anything to do with Zhao’s companies funneling money into Trump-linked ventures, but she did smile a lot while saying it.
For those keeping score at home, Zhao’s pardon joins a growing list of crypto-related clemency acts from the Trump administration. Also pardoned: the founders of BitMEX, who were charged with, you guessed it, money laundering, and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, whose online marketplace was once the Amazon Prime of illegal drugs.
As for Zhao, the pardon removes pesky restrictions that had barred him from running financial ventures. Whether it will clear up his regulatory baggage remains uncertain. But one thing’s clear: in Trump’s Washington, blockchain loyalty pays and memory loss remains a presidential superpower.
