Changpeng Zhao "Competitors even moved to block the pardon"...Binance's U.S. Return Prevention Theory Exposed

▲ Changpeng Zhao (CZ)/AI Generated Image

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao claimed that competitor cryptocurrency exchanges in the U.S. showed opposition to his pardon application. He stated that the competing exchanges were concerned that Binance could re-enter the U.S. market through the pardon.

Cointelegraph reported on May 9 that Changpeng Zhao said on the Crypto Banter podcast that he "was not very confident" about the possibility of a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump. Zhao served a four-month prison sentence in 2024 for violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws.

Zhao said, "There was very strong opposing lobbying from some competitors in the U.S." He claimed that "other cryptocurrency exchanges in the U.S. did not want me to be pardoned" and that they were concerned about Binance's potential re-entry into the U.S. market.

Binance withdrew from the U.S. market in November 2023 after reaching a $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. government. The settlement was related to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and operating an unregistered money transmitting business.

Zhao stated that there was no specific evidence of competitors' opposition. However, he reiterated the possibility that U.S. cryptocurrency exchange competitors had resisted, saying, "I'm quite sure that something like that happened to some extent."

President Trump pardoned Zhao in October 2025, approximately one year after Zhao completed his four-month sentence in September 2024. In a November 2025 interview on 60 Minutes, Trump stated that he "didn't know who he was" regarding Zhao, but also said he was told Zhao was a victim of a "witch hunt" by the former Joe Biden administration.

Binance.US resumed operations for eligible U.S. users in February 2025, before Zhao's pardon. Cointelegraph reported that this was approximately four months before Zhao's pardon.

Zhao's remarks came after another legal controversy surrounding him was recently resolved. An Alabama federal court dismissed a 2024 lawsuit filed against Binance, Binance.US, and Zhao in March. The lawsuit alleged that the exchange facilitated the transfer of funds to terrorist organizations.

Zhao also stated in April that he hopes cryptocurrency and blockchain will become an invisible part of everyday infrastructure, like the internet is today, by 2031. He said he expects that in five years, people will no longer refer to cryptocurrency as a separate term, just as they don't routinely mention TCP/IP, HTML, or JavaScript of the internet.

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