On October 23, US president Donald Trump exercised his constitutional clemency powers to pardon Changpeng Zhao, co-founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
As the usual suspects howl as if Zhao was some kind of hardened criminal, and hint darkly at the possibility of a corrupt motive on Trump’s part (I’m not discounting that possibility), it’s worth noting that the “crime” Zhao pled guilty to and served four months in prison for wasn’t a crime by any sane definition of the word.
Zhao’s “crime,” according to the US Department of Justice, was “violating the [Bank Secrecy Act] by causing Binance to violate the BSA by causing Binance to fail to implement an effective anti-money laundering program.”
In English, that means Zhao didn’t display sufficient enthusiasm in spying on Binance’s customers for the US government.
Yes, really. Binance served its customers instead of surveilling those customers on behalf of the DC ruling class. In a free society, that would be called “ethical human behavior,” not “crime.”
Zhao, a Canadian national, no longer a “convicted felon” in the United States, should henceforth face fewer travel restrictions and possibly a recovered ability to serve on the boards of companies in certain government-regulated industries.
Hooray! Hooray! Along with the pardon of Ross Ulbricht, sentenced to two life terms plus 40 years for the “crime” of operating a website, that’s two cheers for Trump in my book.
I can think of at least two candidates for the third cheer, and hope Trump will deliver.
The first candidate is Ian Freeman, a libertarian activist from New Hampshire who’s serving an eight-year sentence for the “crime” of selling Bitcoin without a license. No such license was legally required, or even existed, but the government ignores technicalities like that when they’re after someone.
Freeman doesn’t belong in prison. The prosecutor knew that when she brought the charges, and the judge knew that when he imposed the sentence — just as Trump will know it if the matter comes to his attention.
Then there’s Roger Ver, aka “Bitcoin Jesus.” In 2014, he renounced his US citizenship and moved abroad, paying the usual bribes (“exit taxes”). Last year, the US government decided it wanted more money and had him arrested in and extradited from Spain.
Ver entered into a “deferred prosecution agreement” earlier this month, under which he’ll fork over another $50 million in bribes … unless Trump pardons him before that agreement goes into effect.
What we really need is a constitutional amendment forbidding the US government to regulate cryptocurrency in any way, shape, manner, or form. But until we get that, Trump should pardon, commute the sentences of, and direct the DOJ to refrain from persecuting, the people changing money for the better.
Thomas L. Knapp (X: @thomaslknapp | Bluesky: @knappster.bsky.social | Mastodon: @knappster) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.
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