{"id":16163,"date":"2025-09-19T00:03:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T22:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/?p=16163"},"modified":"2025-09-19T00:03:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T22:03:45","slug":"rising-polymarket-odds-suggest-surge-in-cz-presidential-pardon-following-x-profile-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/rising-polymarket-odds-suggest-surge-in-cz-presidential-pardon-following-x-profile-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising Polymarket Odds Suggest Surge in CZ Presidential Pardon Following X Profile Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

“`html
\n<\/p>\n

\n

Cryptocurrency aficionados are hypothesizing that former Binance CEO Changpeng \u201cCZ\u201d Zhao is nearer to obtaining a pardon from US President Donald Trump following an alteration to his social media profile.<\/p>\n

The likelihood of Zhao receiving a pardon from Trump on the forecasting platform Polymarket surged to an unprecedented peak of 64% on Saturday, but has since declined to 45% at the time of this publication.<\/p>\n

Several users pointed out<\/a> on Wednesday that Zhao had eliminated the \u201cex-@binance\u201d label \u2014 which he had included in 2023 after resigning as CEO under a US plea agreement \u2014 indicating he may no longer be separating himself from the exchange he launched in 2017.<\/p>\n

A presidential pardon could feasibly enable CZ to reclaim a managerial or operational position at Binance \u2014 something the exchange asserted was off the table<\/a> as part of the arrangement with US authorities.<\/p>\n

Source: Polymarket<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After his resignation in November 2023, Zhao stated he had<\/a> \u201cno intentions of returning to the CEO role.\u201d Nevertheless, in May, he affirmed<\/a> having instructed his legal team to seek a pardon from Trump.<\/p>\n

Trump has granted pardons<\/a> for Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht, as well as BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed.<\/p>\n

Cointelegraph contacted a Binance representative for feedback, but had yet to receive a reply at the time of this publication.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/strong><\/em>CZ raises alarm as \u2018SEAL\u2019 team uncovers 60 fraudulent IT workers linked to North Korea<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Binance agreement is still under examination from legislators<\/h2>\n

Zhao served four months in incarceration<\/a> in 2024 after admitting guilt to a money laundering offense for his inability to uphold an effective Anti-Money Laundering system while at Binance.<\/p>\n

The exchange consented to pay $4.3 billion as part of the arrangement with US officials, and Richard Teng has been the CEO since Zhao\u2019s exit.<\/p>\n