Donald Trump’s latest presidential pardon didn’t just raise eyebrows—it lit a fire inside his own base.
When Trump pardoned Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder of Binance, on Thursday, the blowback wasn’t led by Democrats or the media. It came straight from some of MAGA’s most loyal and deep-pocketed believers.
Joe Lonsdale, billionaire venture capitalist and Palantir cofounder, was one of the first to break ranks. His post on X hit like a punch to the gut of Trumpworld: “I love President Trump; this is possibly the greatest admin of my lifetime—except for these pardons. If I’m calling balls and strikes, these are hit-by-pitches! POTUS has been terribly advised on this; it makes it look like massive fraud is happening around him in this area.”
That’s not the kind of message the campaign wants from a billionaire ally.
Zhao—who served four months in prison after pleading guilty to money-laundering violations that helped drug dealers, terrorists, and child sex abusers move money through Binance—was granted a full pardon less than a year after his release. The timing couldn’t be more politically radioactive.
Just months before, Binance had struck a deal with World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s new crypto venture, reportedly worth millions to the family. Even for Trump, who thrives on controversy, this one cuts close.
Far-right agitator Laura Loomer, one of Trump’s loudest online defenders and rumored confidantes, wasn’t having it either. Earlier this month, she slammed even the idea of a CZ pardon.
“Another terrible pardon idea that I’m sure someone is getting paid a lot of money to push. It’s like people are just trying to set the admin up at this point,” she wrote.
On Capitol Hill, the reaction wasn’t much softer. GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, never a Trump favorite, called it plainly:
“I don’t like it. He was convicted. He’s not innocent.”
Even in the pro-crypto corners of Trump’s coalition, the move landed awkwardly. Binance has been banned from operating in the U.S. since 2023, and Zhao has spent months lobbying the administration for leniency. When The Wall Street Journal reported in March that Trump family associates met to discuss taking a stake in Binance’s U.S. arm, it set off quiet alarms across Washington.
Zhao has denied any quid pro quo.
“Fact: I have had no discussions of a Binance US deal with … well, anyone,” he posted on X. “No felon would mind a pardon, especially being the only one in U.S. history who was ever sentenced to prison for a single [Bank Secrecy Act] charge.”
Still, the optics are brutal. A billionaire crypto founder convicted of money-laundering gets out early, Trump’s family stands to profit from his company, and a pardon drops right on cue.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the decision as nothing more than Trump exercising his authority—and taking a stand against what she called the Biden administration’s “war on crypto.”
“In their desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden administration pursued Mr. Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims,” Leavitt told The Daily Beast. “The Biden administration’s war on crypto is over.”
Meanwhile, Trump claims he barely knew who Zhao was.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever met him, but he had a lot of support, and they said that what he did is not even a crime, that he was persecuted by the Biden administration,” Trump told reporters Thursday.
Democrats, unsurprisingly, aren’t buying it. Sen. Elizabeth Warren called the pardon “blatant corruption” and warned that Congress is complicit if it looks the other way.
“First, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to a criminal money-laundering charge. Then he boosted one of Donald Trump’s crypto ventures and lobbied for a pardon,” Warren said. “Today, Donald Trump did his part and pardoned him. If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption in pending market structure legislation, it owns this lawlessness.”
