{"id":8280,"date":"2026-04-10T10:58:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T10:58:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8280"},"modified":"2026-04-10T10:58:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T10:58:50","slug":"binances-cz-says-u-s-crypto-rivals-spent-millions-to-block-his-pardon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8280","title":{"rendered":"Binance\u2019s CZ Says U.S. Crypto Rivals Spent Millions to Block His Pardon"},"content":{"rendered":"

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  • Binance\u2019s founder and ex-CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has released a memoir in which he claims rival crypto exchanges spent millions of dollars waging a campaign in an attempt to prevent him from being pardoned and Binance re-entering the US market.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Zhao claimed that the campaign included paid \u201cfalse news\u201d published by US media outlets including The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Previously Politico has reported that Zhao and Binance themselves ran an aggressive campaign to secure his pardon.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    For those of you keen to spend a few days reading the carefully curated life story of a shady crypto mogul, you\u2019re in luck \u2014 former Binance CEO, Changpeng \u2018CZ\u2019 Zhao, has penned a memoir!<\/p>\n

    In this over 300-page memoir titled \u201cFreedom of Money: A Memoir of Protecting Users, Resilience, and the Founding of Binance,\u201d CZ claims that several of Binance\u2019s US-based rival crypto exchanges spent millions trying to prevent him from being pardoned by Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

    The former Binance CEO also alleges media stories published by the likes of Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal were part of a paid campaign to discredit him and prevent Binance from re-entering the US market run by these rival exchanges, calling the articles \u201cfalse news\u201d and \u201csmear articles.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cA 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,\u201d CZ wrote in his weighty tome.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u201cThey paid millions in lobbying fees to block the pardon, in fear of business competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Zhao was pardoned by Trump in October of last year after serving a prison term of 4 months for crimes relating to violations of the US Banking Secrecy Act.<\/p>\n

    Related: Bitcoin Eyes $90K Target as $72K Breakout and $2.7B Binance Buy Wave Reset Bull Case<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Binance Spent Millions Lobbying For CZ to be Pardoned, Says Politico<\/h2>\n

    In 2023, CZ pleaded guilty to charges related to failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering measures at Binance. Unlike many crypto figures guilty of similar breaches, CZ actually wound up having to serve time in prison. He was also forced to permanently step down as Binance CEO.<\/p>\n

    While CZ\u2019s memoir focuses on his rivals\u2019 alleged attempts to prevent him from being pardoned, it appears that CZ and Binance were themselves waging a fierce campaign to secure his pardon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Related: Trump-Backed American Bitcoin Hits 7,000 BTC as Stock Slides Into Penny Territory<\/strong><\/p>\n

    According to a Politico report published in October, shortly after CZ\u2019s pardon was granted, one of the likely lobbyists behind his release was a hunting buddy of Donald Trump Jr\u2019s named Ches McDowell.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    McDowell runs a lobbying firm called Checkmate Government Relations, which has become one of the most lucrative lobbying firms in Washington, D.C., since Trump\u2019s return to power \u2014 in the three months up to CZ\u2019s pardon, Checkmate reportedly had a revenue of US$7.1 million.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

    Binance,Law#Binances #U.S #Crypto #Rivals #Spent #Millions #Block #Pardon1775818730<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Binance\u2019s founder and ex-CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has released a memoir in which he claims rival crypto exchanges spent millions of dollars waging a campaign in an attempt to prevent him from being pardoned and Binance re-entering the US market. Zhao claimed that the campaign included paid \u201cfalse news\u201d published by US media outlets including The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1599,1277,62,2567,1002,3934,1026,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-8280","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bitcoin","8":"tag-binances","9":"tag-block","10":"tag-crypto","11":"tag-millions","12":"tag-pardon","13":"tag-rivals","14":"tag-spent","15":"tag-u-s"},"yoast_head":"\nBinance\u2019s CZ Says U.S. Crypto Rivals Spent Millions to Block His Pardon - Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8280\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Binance\u2019s CZ Says U.S. Crypto Rivals Spent Millions to Block His Pardon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Binance\u2019s founder and ex-CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has released a memoir in which he claims rival crypto exchanges spent millions of dollars waging a campaign in an attempt to prevent him from being pardoned and Binance re-entering the US market. 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