The Chinese-born Canadian entrepreneur, widely known as CZ, received a pardon after he pleaded guilty to breaking US anti-money-laundering laws and went to prison for four months, part of a US$4.3 billion settlement with the US government to resolve a years-long investigation into Binance.
Zhao was forced to step down as Binance CEO under the settlement by the US Justice Department in November 2023.
The pardon would likely enable Zhao to return and run day-to-day operations at his company, according to Phyrex Ni, a cryptocurrency industry veteran in China. That would end the three-year ban on Zhao from being involved in Binance’s operations, Ni said.
The pardon is also expected to pave the way for Zhao to lead a potential initial public offering by Binance in the US.
“A large number of leading [cryptocurrency] exchanges have gone public in the US,” Ni said. “Binance also wanted to list in the US, and it is very likely that it will continue with this plan.”
