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 also pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay $4.3bn (£3.4bn) after a US investigation found it helped users bypass sanctions.
The pardon reignited debate over the White House embrace of cryptocurrency as the Trump family's own investments in the industry have deepened.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called Zhao's prosecution under the Biden administration part of a "war on cryptocurrency", pushing back on critics who said the pardon appeared motivated by Trump's personal financial interests.
"This was an overly prosecuted case by the Biden administration," she said, adding that the case had been "thoroughly reviewed". "So the president wants to correct this overreach of the Biden administration's misjustice and he exercised his constitutional authority to do so."
Binance had spent nearly a year pursuing a pardon for its former boss, who completed his four-month prison sentence in September 2024, the WSJ reported on Thursday.
Its campaign came as Trump, who released his own coin shortly ahead of his inauguration in January, promised to take a friendlier approach to the industry than his predecessor.
Since then, he has loosened regulations, sought to establish a national cryptocurrency reserve and pushed to make it easier for Americans to use retirement savings to invest in digital assets.
Zhao, who stepped down as Binance chief executive in 2023, wrote on social media on Thursday that he was "deeply grateful for today's pardon and to President Trump for upholding America's commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice".
The pardon lifts restrictions that had stopped Zhao from running financial ventures, but it's not yet clear whether it changes his standing with US regulators or his ability to lead Binance directly.
In a statement Binance called the decision "incredible news".
The exchange, which is registered in the Cayman Islands, remains the world's most popular platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
It did not respond to further questions about the conflict of interest claims.
