Changpeng Zhao files for US presidential pardon, praises Trump’s ‘business-like’ leadership style
Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, has confirmed that his legal team has submitted a formal request for a presidential pardon from the US government.
In a May 5 podcast interview with Farokh Sarmad of Rug Radio, Zhao stated that the decision followed increased media speculation about his potential pursuit of clemency.
According to him:
“I got lawyers applying, and we only submitted after the Bloomberg article and the WSJ article came out. And then I was like, well, if they’re writing this article, I might as well just officially apply, right?”
Zhao’s comments mark the first public acknowledgment of the pardon application, which has been the subject of speculation in recent months.
Over the past months, traditional media reports have suggested that Zhao’s pardon request may be tied to a financial arrangement involving the Donald Trump family and Binance.US.
The reports also suggested that he agreed to cooperate against other figures in the crypto space, including Tron founder Justin Sun, as part of any plea deal.
Zhao has denied those claims, describing them as politically motivated and lacking factual basis.
In the podcast interview, Zhao reiterated this position while accusing traditional media of targeting high-profile individuals with one-sided narratives.
He said:
“From my perspective, like, the traditional media—they pick their target, they pick their person, and then they try to go after them, right? So they pick Elon, they pick Donald Trump, they pick myself, and many others. And the narrative is very consistent—once they pick you, it’s just completely negative. Negative articles about you.”
Praises Trump
During the same interview, Zhao shifted focus to share his perspective on President Trump’s leadership style, especially in trade negotiations.
Zhao praised Trump for treating international diplomacy more like business transactions than traditional geopolitical maneuvering.
According to the Binance founder:
“It’s not your typical geopolitical-style negotiation. It’s actually a very typical business type of negotiation. In business, you go super high, then go low, then high again—you fluctuate until you eventually land at a spot that works. That’s very common in the business world.”
Zhao described Trump as a “deals guy” who understands leverage and strategic positioning. While noting that such tactics can disrupt industries and economies, he found the method more straightforward and transparent than conventional political posturing.
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