The pardon was the payoff

Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao after months of lobbying, a move the article presents as a quid pro quo tied to Trump's financial gains from Binance. The article says Binance accepted a $2 billion investment from MGX denominated in Trump's USD1 stablecoin in May, and that the SEC later dismissed a case against Binance with prejudice. It also reports that Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to a felony charge over anti-money laundering failures and was released in September 2024 after four months in prison. The White House press secretary described the prosecution as part of a "war on crypto," which the article criticizes as an effort to dodge accountability.