US president Donald Trump has granted a full pardon to Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, marking one of the most controversial decisions of his second term. Mr Zhao, known in the crypto world as 'CZ', was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 after pleading guilty to violating US anti–money laundering laws. Binance, which he founded in 2017, had also pleaded guilty and agreed to pay US$4.3bn (billion) in penalties after US authorities found that it had allowed users to evade sanctions and failed to maintain an adequate compliance programme. Mr Zhao completed his sentence in September 2024, and the presidential pardon now erases his conviction, restoring his right to engage in financial ventures that had been r

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