CZ Claps Back at Warren’s Commentary Following Trump Pardon

CZ refutes Warren’s corruption claims after Trump’s pardon, denying money laundering charges and accusing her of spreading misinformation.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has responded strongly to recent claims made by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren.

The exchange comes after President Donald Trump pardoned Zhao, who had previously pleaded guilty to willfully failing to implement an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) program at Binance.

Warren Slams CZ Pardon as Corruption

Warren condemned the pardon, saying that CZ had pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge and had been sentenced to prison. She also claimed that he had financed Trump’s stablecoin before asking the president for clemency. “If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption, it owns it,” she wrote.

Her comments follow scrutiny over Zhao’s ties to Trump-linked crypto ventures. According to The Wall Street Journal, he and his associates had backed initiatives related to these projects before his lobbying efforts.

CZ has since fired back against the claims, accusing her of misrepresenting the nature of the charges against him. He noted that “a U.S. Senator can’t get her facts right, in a public post about a person’s charge,” and emphasized that “there were NO money laundering charges.” He added that the DOJ was politically biased, suggesting that the case against him was influenced by the Biden administration’s stance on crypto enforcement.

Zhao had pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and served a prison sentence tied to Binance’s compliance failures. On Thursday, President Trump granted him a full pardon, erasing the conviction and restoring his civil rights.

Insider Knowledge Allegations

Warren was not the only one stirring controversy following the latest development. Members of the X crypto community pointed to a HyperLiquid whale who previously made headlines for shorting the market ahead of President Trump’s tariff announcement, netting around $190 million.

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The same trader, allegedly linked to a Polymarket account named “bigwinner01,” reportedly placed a huge bet that CZ would be pardoned in 2025, earning more than $56,000. On-chain analysts have traced wallet activity and noted the timing of the market short and the prediction.

Some individuals are calling it “obvious insider knowledge,” while others argue that the pardon was unsurprising given Zhao’s lobbying efforts and connections to Trump-linked crypto ventures.

Meanwhile, some people agree with the senator’s concerns. Entrepreneur Nick O’Neill said the pardon was a bad sign for the industry. “CZ at this point can get away with literally anything,” he said, adding that Trump was letting his allies off the hook as long as they help him get rich.

A longtime supporter of crypto, O’Neill stressed the urgent need for a clear regulatory framework in the U.S., calling the situation a clear sign of corruption.