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The convicted founder of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, said he was “a little bit surprised” by President Donald Trump’s pardon of him on “Special Report” Friday.
“We have never met,” former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao told “Special Report” anchor Bret Baier in an exclusive interview. “We have never talked.”
In 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to a money-laundering–related charge. He served a four-month prison sentence under the Biden administration. President Donald Trump pardoned him Oct. 21, according to the Department of Justice.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt touted Trump’s pardon as “officially end[ing] the Biden administration’s war on the cryptocurrency industry.”
Changpeng Zhao, former CEO of Binance, speaks at the Delta Summit, Malta’s official Blockchain and Digital Innovation event promoting cryptocurrency, in St Julian’s, Malta, on Oct. 4, 2018. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi (Reuters)
On Sunday, Trump said in a “60 Minutes” interview he does not know Zhao.
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The cryptocurrency founder similarly denied having ties to the Trump family, despite The Wall Street Journal attributing Zhao’s pardon to Binance’s alleged “deal” with the Trumps’ cryptocurrency project, World Liberty Financial.
“That’s completely not accurate,” Zhao said on “Special Report.” “There’s no deal, there has never been any discussions. It’s as simple as that.”
However, Zhao said he met American Bitcoin co-founder — and Trump’s son, Eric Trump — once at the Bitcoin MENA conference in Abu Dhabi.
Eric Trump, co-founder and chief strategy officer of American Bitcoin Corp., during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York, US, on Sept. 17, 2025. (Kena Betancur/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Zhao called the WSJ’s reporting “categorically false,” denying any business relationships with Trump’s sons.
He also addressed why he pleaded guilty to a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, which included failure to properly implement an effective anti-money-laundering program.
“I think it’s the best way to confront the problem and solve it head-on,” he said, later adding: “I do not have anything to debate on the charges.”
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Zhao cited Trump’s GENIUS Act, which defined federal regulations for cryptocurrency, as a marker of the U.S. “leading” in crypto rules.
President Donald Trump during a signing ceremony for the GENIUS Act in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 18, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“The more clarity we have in the industry, the better,” Zhao argued.
“I think in the last administration, even when I was charged and even when I pleaded guilty, there wasn’t any clear regulatory frameworks for crypto in the U.S., so I think now it’s getting much clearer, and U.S. is definitely leading,” he added.
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The Wall Street Journal responded to Zhao’s comments, telling “Special Report,” “We stand by our reporting.” Both Fox News and The Wall Street Journal are owned by News Corp.