US President Donald Trump has taken very important steps with his positive approach to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies since taking office on January 20. Undoubtedly, the most important of these was the executive order he signed for the creation of the US National Bitcoin Reserve, while pardoning some people from the cryptocurrency industry was also among his important decisions. At this point, Trump pardoned the three co-founders of BitMEX on March 28 and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht on January 21. Following Trump's decisions, all eyes turned to who would be next, with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) being the two most talked about names. CZ, who stated in a statement he made a few days ago that he had never met with Trump personally, said in his new statement that he had asked Trump for a pardon. At this point, CZ stated that he formally requested clemency from Trump two weeks ago through his lawyers, shortly after denying reports that he had requested clemency. Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal previously reported that Binance and the Trump family's crypto project World Liberty Financial were in business deal talks and that CZ had also applied for clemency. However, CZ denied the reports, saying, “I'm sorry to disappoint you. The WSJ article misrepresented the facts. No criminal would object to a pardon. Especially as the only person in US history to serve time under the Bank Secrecy Act. I had no discussions about the Binance US deal with… well, anyone.” Related News: JUST IN! Trump Family in Talks to Buy Stake in Binance! Is Presidential Pardon on the Way for CZ? - BNB Price Moves! CZ pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in November 2023 as part of a deal Binance struck with US authorities. He was also forced to resign from his position as CEO. CZ was later sentenced to four months in prison and banned from working at Binance as part of the deal. While CZ is stepping down from his role as CEO, he remains a Binance shareholder. He stated at Binance Blockchain Week in November that he “has no plans to return to the CEO position.” Although CZ did not return to his role as CEO, he began providing cryptocurrency consultancy for Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan. *This is not investment advice. Continue Reading: All Eyes on Trump Now: Binance Founder CZ Requests Official Pardon!
