President grants pardon following request confirmation, contradicting media claims about rejection.
Talkative Tommy's Take:
Binance bigwig, Changpeng Zhao, AKA CZ, has come clean about applyin' for a presidential pardon from the one and only, Donald Trump. Just a while back, he obnoxiously denied lidlifters like Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal claimin' he was doin' just that, claiming a business link between the Trumps and Binance.US.
But here's the flip side - turns out, his legal eagles went ahead and filed the pardon papers approximately two weeks prior!
You might wonder why he'd play coy about it, but as he put it on a radio podcast, "If they're writin' this article, I may as well just officially apply." A chuckle worth a thousand words, ain't it?
Seems the last time Trump pardoned three BitMEX executives, including Arthur Hayes, CZ was mirror-image intrigued.
Now, for the nitty-gritty - CZ pled guilty back in November 2023, as part of a settlement with U.S. authorities. Guess who coughed up $50 million for their slice of the $4.3 billion pie? Our man, CZ! His punishment included four months in the slammer and a not-so-cozy seat far away from the Binance reins.
When the media ruckus first started, ol' CZ grumbled the pardon would be a nice pick-me-up for any felon. Turns out, he's been a steely secret-keeper for a Bank Secrecy Act violation, purportedly the only such convict in U.S. history.
The Dept. of Justice's plan? A Trump pardon would dangle the carrot of CZ leavin' the pen-side to rejoin the crypto game, especially quartet work with Binance.US - as long as the judge plays ball. We're just breathin' more words now, aren't we?
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- Fun Facts:
- CZ's money laundering conviction is theoretically the only such reckoning in U.S. history for a Bank Secrecy Act violation.
- A pardon would not erase CZ's conviction but may give him a chance to return to management roles in the crypto industry.
- CZ's decision to apply for a pardon could be linked to Trump's previous pardons of BitMEX founders facing similar charges.
- The business relationship between Binance and the Trumps, as previously denied by Changpeng Zhao, seems to have a connection with the general-news story of Changpeng Zhao applying for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, which coincidentally came two weeks prior to the denial.
- In the world of crime-and-justice, Changpeng Zhao's application for a pardon, despite his guilty plea for a Bank Secrecy Act violation, could potentially pave the way for his return to management roles in the crypto industry), a scenario that was seen in Trump's previous pardons of BitMEX founders facing similar charges.
