Key Takeaways
- Zhao has officially filed for a US presidential pardon.
- He denied media claims of deals with the Trump family or cooperation against Justin Sun.
- Zhao praised Trump's trade tactics as resembling business negotiations.
Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, has formally applied for a US presidential pardon.
He confirmed the move during a May 5 interview on Rug Radio with Farokh Sarmad, stating that media reports prompted him to submit the request.
Zhao said:
I got lawyers applying, and we only submitted after the Bloomberg article and the WSJ article came out. And then I was like, well, if they’re writing this article, I might as well just officially apply, right?
This marks the first public confirmation of Zhao’s pardon request, which had been circulating in speculation.
Rejection of media claims
Reports had suggested Zhao’s pardon plea might be linked to a financial arrangement involving the Trump family and Binance.US, as well as alleged cooperation in legal action against other figures in the Bitcoin space, including Tron founder Justin Sun.
Zhao rejected the claims, calling them politically driven and inaccurate.
He criticized traditional media outlets for publishing “completely negative” narratives against high-profile figures, including himself, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump.
Praise for Trump’s leadership
Zhao also used the podcast appearance to commend Trump’s leadership style, particularly in trade negotiations.
Zhao explained:
It’s actually a very typical business type of negotiation. In business, you go super high, then go low, then high again… eventually land at a spot that works.
He characterized Trump as a “deals guy” with a transparent, leverage-based approach uncommon in politics.
