Well, it seems like the rumor mill is churning again in the crypto world. This time, it’s all about Changpeng Zhao, the former head of Binance. People are watching his every move—or at least, every tiny change on his social media profile.
Earlier this week, some sharp-eyed users noticed that CZ had quietly removed the “ex-@binance” tag from his bio. He’d added that back in late 2023, right after he stepped down as part of a pretty massive plea deal with U.S. authorities. Taking it off now? It feels like a signal. Maybe he’s not trying to distance himself from the exchange anymore. Or maybe it doesn’t mean anything at all. It’s hard to say.
Speculation Over a Presidential Pardon
This small change has set off a wave of speculation, especially among those betting on political outcomes. On the prediction platform Polymarket, the odds of Zhao receiving a pardon from former President Donald Trump actually shot up to 64% over the weekend. That’s a record high. Though, to be fair, those odds have since cooled off a bit, sitting around 45% as of today.
It’s not entirely out of the blue. Back in May, Zhao confirmed that his lawyers had applied for a pardon. And Trump has a history here—he’s pardoned figures from the crypto world before, like Ross Ulbricht of Silk Road and the co-founders of BitMEX.
A pardon could change everything for Zhao. Right now, his plea deal prevents him from taking any kind of management or operating role at Binance. A clean slate from the president might just open that door again.
The Lingering Scrutiny on Binance
But let’s not forget, the whole situation is still pretty messy. Zhao did serve four months in prison this year after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an anti-money laundering program. Binance itself paid a staggering $4.3 billion as part of the settlement. Richard Teng is the CEO now, and the company is supposed to be under three years of strict compliance monitoring.
Yet, some U.S. lawmakers aren’t convinced that’s the end of the story. Just this week, three Democratic senators sent a letter to the Attorney General expressing serious concerns. They pointed to reports of meetings between Binance execs and Treasury officials, wondering if the company is trying to renegotiate parts of that 2023 deal.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, who signed the letter, has also raised questions about Zhao’s alleged “financial entanglements with the President’s family.” It’s a complicated web, and it’s not clear where any of this is headed.
The White House hasn’t commented publicly, and Binance didn’t respond to a request for comment. For now, everyone’s just watching and waiting.
