\u00a0BNB has seen a 5.5% price jump following the White House announcement that Binance co-founder has been pardoned by US President Donald Trump, leading some analysts to suggest that a new leg up might be around the corner.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the White House revealed<\/a> that US President Donald Trump had pardoned Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, two years after pleading guilty.<\/p>\n In an official statement, the White House\u2019s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that the US President \u201cexercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency.\u201d<\/p>\n Leavitt stated that \u201cIn their desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden Administration pursued Mr. Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations while being the CEO of Binance<\/a>. As part of his plea deal, he stepped down from his position in the crypto exchange and served a four-month prison sentence last year. Additionally, Binance reached a $4.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ).<\/p>\n The White House press secretary affirmed that \u201cthese actions by the Biden Administration severely damaged the United States\u2019 reputation as a global leader in technology and innovation,\u201d declaring that \u201cthe Biden Administration\u2019s war on crypto is over.\u201d<\/p>\n Notably, there have been rumors that President Trump could grant a pardon to Zhao after January\u2019s pardon of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. In March, the Wall Street Journal reported that Zhao allegedly had been \u201cpushing\u201d a Binance US deal<\/a> for a pardon since 2024. However, he quickly denied these claims.<\/p>\n In an X post, CZ thanked the Trump Administration, stating that he is \u201cdeeply grateful\u201d for the long-awaited pardon and \u201cto President Trump for upholding America\u2019s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.\u201d The Binance co-founder also pledged to \u201cdo everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the news, BNB saw a 5.5% jump to reclaim the $1,100 mark. The cryptocurrency has recorded a massive rally over the past few months, reaching a new all-time high (ATH) of $1,375 nearly two weeks ago.<\/p>\n Altcoin Sherpa highlighted<\/a> the altcoin\u2019s price action amid the recent market performance. However, he expressed doubt about whether BNB will \u201ccontinue being the strongest major or not,\u201d at least in the short term.<\/p>\n He suggested that Solana (SOL) could have a better performance<\/a> in the coming weeks, arguing that \u201cboth ETH and BNB had incredible runs previously and probably need more time to chill out.\u201d<\/p>\n Since last Friday\u2019s correction, BNB has been trading within the $1,050-$1,125 range, failing to break out of the upper level for the past six days. Analyst Open4Profit noted<\/a> that if the altcoin reclaims the range\u2019s resistance, the price could rally toward its ATH levels and continue its price discovery uptrend toward the $1,500 target.<\/p>\nCZ Pardon Pushes BNB To $1,100<\/h2>\n