Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has been pardoned by US President Donald Trump.
Zhao, also known as 'CZ', was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws.
Binance was ordered to pay $4.3bn (£3.4bn) after a US investigation found it helped users bypass sanctions.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called Zhao's prosecution under the Biden administration part of a 'war on cryptocurrency'.
She claimed Zhao had been targeted 'despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victim' and said prosecutors' efforts to seek a three-year prison sentence had 'severely damaged the United States' reputation'.
'The Biden Administration's war on crypto is over,' she added.
The move to pardon Zhao comes amid the Trump administration's adoption of a more friendly stance towards cryptocurrency than his predecessors. The President has vowed to make the US the 'crypto capital' of the world and has released his own coin shortly ahead of his inauguration in January.
Since then, he has sought to establish a national cryptocurrency reserve and pushed for making it easier for Americans to use retirement savings to invest in them.
The previous administration accused Binance and Zhao of 'wilful violations' of its laws, endangering the US financial system and national security. Zhao had stepped down from Binance in November 2023, acknowledging his mistakes and stating, 'I must take responsibility.'
Binance has been approached for comment.
The exchange remains the world's most popular platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
