TLDR
- Zhao says US crypto rivals paid millions in lobbying fees to block his pardon.
- He says friends linked smear articles to fears of Binance returning to the US market.
- Trump pardoned Zhao last October after his 2023 guilty plea.
- Politico reported Binance spent hundreds of thousands lobbying for the pardon.
- Binance.US named Stephen Gregory CEO as it seeks more US market share.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao says U.S. crypto rivals tried to stop his pardon with heavy lobbying. He made the claim in his new memoir. The book also says some firms feared Binance could return to the U.S. market.
Zhao says friends told him U.S. companies also backed negative press coverage. He points to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. He describes them as “false news” and “smear articles.”
Zhao says rivals tried to stop his pardon
In the memoir, Zhao says U.S. crypto exchanges spent millions to block his pardon. He says they feared stronger competition from Binance. He links those efforts to lobbying in Washington.
Zhao wrote, “A few friends told me that U.S. crypto exchanges funded those smear articles.” He added that rivals feared a pardon could help Binance return. He also wrote, “They paid millions in lobbying fees to block the pardon.”
President Donald Trump pardoned Zhao last October. The pardon came after Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023. He had admitted failures in Binance’s anti-money-laundering controls.
Zhao also says prison time was not expected. He wrote that earlier cases often ended with deferred prosecution deals. He also noted that some defendants received home confinement.
Memoir revives debate over media coverage and lobbying
The memoir takes aim at major media coverage tied to Binance and Zhao. He says some stories gave a false picture of events. He names reports in The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
Zhao does not present public evidence in the excerpt provided for the funding claim. Still, the allegation puts new attention on rivalry in the U.S. crypto market. It also adds to debate around lobbying and media influence.
According to Politico, Binance spent hundreds of thousands seeking Zhao’s pardon. The report said one firm received $450,000 for one month of work. The firm was run by “a hunting buddy of Donald Trump Jr.”
That reporting shows Binance also pushed hard for the pardon. So, Zhao’s claims sit beside Binance’s own lobbying effort. Together, they show how much was at stake around his legal case.
Binance.US pushes for growth after legal fallout
Zhao says efforts to block his pardon clashed with Trump’s crypto agenda. He writes that the campaign ran against Trump’s plan. He says Trump wanted to make “America the crypto capital.”
The timing matters because Binance.US is trying to grow again. Last month, Binance.US named Stephen Gregory as chief executive. The company wants a larger share of the American market.
Coinbase remains the leading U.S. exchange by scale and reach. So, any Binance.US expansion could sharpen rivalry. Zhao’s memoir places that business contest at the center of his pardon story.
Binance.US also restored fiat deposits and withdrawals about a year before Gregory’s hiring. That move reopened basic account functions for U.S. users. Now, the company appears focused on rebuilding its position.
