CZ Pardon Faces New Democrats Scrutiny A Week After $6.3B Binance Hack

Democrats are investigating whether political or financial ties influenced President Trump’s October 2025 pardon of Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder, after a Binance security breach reported at $6.34 billion renewed scrutiny of his ties. The October 29 attack on Binance’s internal wallet-signing systems moved assets across several blockchains; Binance said $2.85 billion was frozen or intercepted and that it would cover losses. On October 30, House Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters cited Binance’s reported ties to Trump’s family’s World Liberty Financial, the SEC’s dropping of its case against Binance and Zhao, and the pardon. Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program, stepped down as CEO, served four months, and later received the pardon.