Somehow I missed Trump's pardoning of CZ earlier on this year...
And this does seem to have been something of a murky affair!
In a recent Financial Times report Trump's pardon of CZ was framed as part of a broader war against the so-called "deep state."
The irony here bites - I mean if there is a deep state then that would be the sprawling corporate-crypto enforcement-industrial complex which Binance spent years trying to outmanoeuvre.
And if there is a deep state 'protecting' us against global nefariousness then Binance is precisely the kind of institution it should be going after.
And yet here we are with the poster-boy working against the deep state being pardoned by the head of it.....
Quite the Pardon....
I mean Binance hasn't simply failed to pass a couple of anti-money-laundering controls. It has been ,according to US prosecutors, facilitating trillions in unmonitored transactions across the globe-some of which involved organized crime and sanctioned states.
Back in 2023 CZ pleaded guilty to failing to prevent this. He spent four months in a cushy prison, having provided a settlement of just over $4 BN.
And now Trump has stepped in and provided him with a full pardon!
Final thoughts....
Pardoning a man who oversaw one of the largest financial compliance failures in modern history tells us everything about the next four years: accountability is optional, loyalty is priceless, and if you happen to be running a crypto empire, you may as well keep your calendar free. You never know when the president might call.
Trump holding a FOR SALE sign is probably too obvious.
He seems to be pardoning a few dodgy characters, so you have to wonder what deals were done. I just tend to despair about anything he does. We know it's all about what benefits him.