Binance founder and ex-CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao published a memoir claiming that the U.S. Crypto exchanges paid millions in lobbying fees to block his pardon.
Legal battles, the pardon, and the return, CZ speaks
Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao alleges that major U.S. crypto exchanges quietly spent millions of dollars lobbying against a presidential pardon that could have cleared his path back into the American market.
His memoir, spanning more than 300 pages, offers a detailed account of the legal battle that he fought and the subsequent pardoning by President Donald Trump last October.
Claims of industry-backed lobbying
CZ wrote about the reports by The Wall Street Journal, calling it ‘false news’, and Bloomberg’s report as a ‘smear article’.
“A few friends told me that those smear articles were funded by U.S. crypto exchanges fearing that a pardon would allow Binance to re-enter the U.S. market,” he stated. “They paid millions in lobbying fees to block the pardon in fear of business competition.”
He did not name specific firms, but the implication points toward major American players, including Coinbase, which currently dominates much of the regulated U.S. crypto trading landscape.
CZ also took aim at coverage from legacy financial media, calling reports from The Wall Street Journal “false news” and accusing Bloomberg of publishing “smear articles.” He stops short of providing direct evidence linking competitors to those reports.
CZ’s Memoir recounts his experience
CZ was arrested for violating the anti-money laundering (AML) program at Binance in April 2024. He served his four months in the U.S. prison and was released in September.
The memoir revisits the events leading up to CZ’s legal troubles, where he pleaded guilty to failing to implement adequate AML controls at Binance. The plea agreement required him to step down as CEO and resulted in a prison sentence, an outcome CZ says caught him off guard.
He writes that he had expected a more lenient resolution while referring to earlier enforcement cases where executives avoided incarceration through deferred prosecution agreements or home confinement. However, he met with a different reality.
While presidential pardons are not uncommon, CZ’s came in the midst of growing political debate over the future of cryptocurrency regulation in the U.S.
According to media reports, Binance drained hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying for CZ’s pardon, including paying one of the firms, run by “a hunting buddy of Donald Trump Jr,” offering $450,000 for a month.
CZ spoke about the controversies circling his pardon in his memoir. Efforts to block his pardon ran contrary to Trump’s ambition to position the U.S. as a global hub for crypto.
Wall Street heavyweights back CZ’s role
The book also includes endorsements from figures well outside the crypto world, including Larry Fink and Ray Dalio.
Dalio, in particular, praises CZ for expanding access to alternative financial systems, while portraying Binance’s role in the financial sphere as the industry redefines how people interact with money.
At a time when traditional finance is increasingly accepting crypto, voices like Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio ’s help position CZ not just as a controversial figure but as someone who played a role in a broader financial evolution.
What is happening at Binance now?
Binance has been working on Binance VIP Capital Connect, a program meant to link investors with managers.
Recently, Binance.US hired the former Currency.com CEO Stephen Gregory as their new chief executive. This move aims to expand their user base in the U.S., competing with their opponent, Coinbase.
CZ has also been suggesting that AI can make crypto safer to use, especially for self-custody, as it will help build safer tools for people to protect what’s theirs.
Concluding his experience
CZ says the memoir is a personal account meant to correct misconceptions and present his perspective. He stated that he began to record his manuscript during his imprisonment and completed it after being pardoned.
He said, “There’s a lot of media that’s not accurate about crypto… a very good chance for me to share my perspective and have people understand crypto better.”
And that is why his memoir is a testimonial for the crypto industry.
