- Changpeng Zhao says he will not return to the exchange he co-founded, despite a presidential pardon.
- Zhao says the pardon means previous restrictions “are completely lifted,” but he prefers to stay away.
- Binance reports growth under new leadership, with over 300 million users and $34 trillion in annual product trading volume.
- Zhao pleaded guilty in November 2023 to failing to maintain an effective Anti–Money Laundering program and received a four-month prison sentence and a work ban before the pardon.
- Zhao forecasts a possible Bitcoin supercycle within 12 months and says the historic four-year pattern may break.
Changpeng Zhao, the co-founder of Binance, said on Sunday he will not return to lead the exchange after receiving a pardon from US President Donald Trump in October. He stated the pardon lifted prior restrictions and reiterated his decision to stay away following his November 2023 guilty plea and subsequent sentence. You can view the interview clip he referenced here.
Zhao told reporters he understands the pardon means those limits “are completely lifted,” but he said he does not plan to rejoin day-to-day management. “I haven’t really needed to go back. I didn’t really want to. I thought it was a pretty good way for me to step down, away from Binance after seven years,” he said.
He pointed to continued progress at the company under new leaders Richard Teng and Yi He, noting user and market gains. The exchange’s leadership announced in a December open letter that the user base topped 300 million and total product trading volume for the year reached $34 trillion; the letter is available here. Zhao added he prefers to be a passive shareholder and sometimes offers advice via social posts. “I just thought, look; they don’t need a backseat driver today. I’m still a shareholder,” he said.
Zhao pleaded guilty in November 2023 to failing to maintain an effective Anti–Money Laundering program at Binance, and was sentenced to four months in prison and barred from working at the exchange prior to the pardon. The pardon prompted scrutiny from some US lawmakers, while Mr. Trump has said he did not know Zhao.
On market outlook, Zhao said Bitcoin could enter a prolonged growth phase he called a supercycle within the next 12 months and that the asset may break its historic four-year pattern. He explained, “Normally, Bitcoin follows four-year cycles, if you look at historic data every four years there’s an all-time high, and then there’s a drop … I think this year … we will probably break the four-year cycle.” The term supercycle is defined further by market resources.
Zhao also shared a clip from Davos on social media and noted the full interview on CNBC with Andrew Sorkin, which he linked in a tweet.
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