Binance comeback? CZ’s pardon reignites talk of a US return

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The crypto world is buzzing once again, with analysts and industry execs speculating whether Binance, the colossal crypto exchange that apparently trades in volumes so high that even the moon would blush, will make its long-awaited return to the United States. And what, you ask, has sparked this madness? None other than the pardon of Binance’s creator, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who received a free pass from none other than the man with the orange hair, President Donald Trump, on Thursday. 🍊

“We will do everything we can to help make America the capital of crypto and advance Web3 worldwide,” CZ posted in an X update. And just like that, the world collectively wondered: Is this a PR stunt or the dawn of a new crypto empire? Well, CZ didn’t stop there. His social media bio mysteriously shifted from “ex-Binance” to a simple “Binance”-and lo, the rumor mill exploded. Bloomberg picked up the scent like a bloodhound on a hot trail.

David Namdar, CEO of the BNB Network Company, shared his thoughts with CryptoMoon, stating that CZ’s pardon isn’t just a plot twist in a mediocre crime drama, but a potential game-changer for Binance and its digital darling, BNB. He pointed out that despite BNB’s price resilience, it’s been largely ignored by Western investors, even though the coin recently soared to all-time highs in October. Could this pardon be the catalyst to bring BNB to the masses? Only time will tell. 📈

If Binance does make a U.S. return, well, US retail traders could finally get a taste of the world’s largest centralized crypto exchange-just what they need to push trading volume even higher. Imagine the sheer chaos, I mean, the excitement, as asset prices surge. Binance had already set up shop in the U.S. in 2019 under the name Binance.US, but with far fewer perks, such as a lack of access to the global exchange’s liquidity or crypto derivatives. At this point, you have to wonder: What’s next, CZ? Do we get a new global crypto currency, or a personal message from Elon Musk? 🤖

US lawmakers and elected officials remain divided on the CZ pardon

Now, here comes the drama. Trump-ever the showman-told reporters that CZ was recommended for a pardon by “a lot of people” in the crypto industry. According to Trump, CZ had been “persecuted” by the Biden administration. “A lot of people say he wasn’t guilty of anything. He served four months in jail, and they say he was not guilty of anything,” Trump explained, as if he were narrating a true-crime podcast. 🕵️‍♂️

However, some U.S. lawmakers weren’t buying the narrative, especially from the Democratic camp. Senior figures like Representative Maxine Waters from California and Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts took issue with the pardon, with Waters suggesting that it was all part of a “pay-to-play” scheme-an accusation that Trump and the crypto industry certainly didn’t want to hear. 😏

Meanwhile, CZ went on the offense, firing back at Warren on social media for making the erroneous claim that he had pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. Technically, Zhao only pleaded guilty to one felony count: violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act by failing to maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program at Binance, which earned him a mere four-month sentence in 2024. A slap on the wrist, really. But hey, a pardon’s a pardon, right?

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2025-10-25 00:20