Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, with the dramatic flair of a man who’s just discovered he’s a cyborg, declared that U.S. crypto rivals “hated” him so much they allegedly tried to block his presidential pardon. This, of course, happened just before Donald Trump, now surely a crypto enthusiast after years of vague tweets, granted clemency in October 2025.
- CZ, who admits he has “no concrete evidence” but insists it’s “obvious,” claims his rivals feared Binance would return to America like a particularly wealthy ghost.
- Binance exited the U.S. in 2023 after paying $4.3 billion to authorities-though CZ now says the money was just “rent for the privilege of being hated.”
- Recent court dismissals, which CZ calls “a slap in the face for terrorists,” have left Binance grinning despite earlier lawsuits alleging it funded everything from beheadings to bad TikTok trends.
On the Crypto Banter podcast, Zhao, with the confidence of a man who once bet his house on Dogecoin, claimed rivals “didn’t want me pardoned because they’re cowards.” He added, with a wink, “But I don’t have proof. Who needs proof when you have a Twitter following?”
“The other crypto exchanges in the US don’t want me to get a pardon,” he declared, as if reciting a Shakespearean monologue. “They’re just jealous of my hairline.”
His claim, naturally, lacks the evidence of a man who once sold his soul for a Bitcoin airdrop. Still, the statement has sparked debates about whether Binance will return to America or just haunt it from afar.
For context, CZ pleaded guilty in 2023 to “not checking if money was coming from the wrong places.” Binance also paid $4.3 billion for violating rules about sanctions and money transmission-a sum CZ described as “a small price to pay for being misunderstood.”
Crypto.news, now a publication with more drama than a soap opera, reported Trump’s pardon on Oct. 23, 2025. Critics, however, questioned whether the decision was influenced by Binance’s ties to Trump’s own crypto ventures-a situation CZ called “coincidence, my dear Watson.”
Binance Wins Court Relief, But Not Necessarily the War
Zhao’s grandstanding followed Binance’s recent legal victories, where a judge dismissed a lawsuit from terrorism victims who claimed Binance funded “bad vibes.” The judge, clearly exhausted, ruled the plaintiffs had “no plausible evidence” and suggested they try suing their cable company instead.
An Alabama court similarly dismissed claims against Binance, though plaintiffs were allowed to amend their complaint-a bureaucratic dance CZ likened to “a ballet of paperwork.”
Trump, in a statement that could have been written by a chatbot, said he didn’t know CZ personally but trusted others who said he’d been “treated unfairly” by Biden’s “war on crypto.” A sentiment CZ returned with a tweet: “Thanks, Mr. Trump! Now let’s build a moonbase together.”
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2026-05-10 11:50