In a dramatic turn that has sent shockwaves through both the cryptocurrency world and the corridors of power in Washington, D.C., Binance—the world’s largest crypto exchange—has staged a remarkable comeback. The company’s resurgence comes hot on the heels of a presidential pardon for its founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, by President Donald Trump, and a renewed, high-stakes lobbying campaign that has put Binance back at the center of U.S. financial policy debates.
According to Politico and other sources, the roots of this political turnaround stretch back months, involving a calculated, multimillion-dollar push to sway decision-makers in the nation’s capital. In late September 2025, Binance hired Checkmate Government Relations, a firm led by Ches McDowell—a North Carolina lobbyist and longtime hunting companion of Donald Trump Jr.—to lobby both the White House and the Treasury Department on financial policy and “administrative relief” matters. The price tag for just one month of these services? A staggering $450,000. This is no small change, even in the high-rolling world of D.C. lobbying. In fact, Checkmate has quickly become one of Washington’s most lucrative firms, pulling in over $7.1 million in revenue in the past three months alone.
This aggressive lobbying effort was only one facet of Binance’s broader strategy to restore its reputation and mend relationships after years of legal and regulatory trouble. Just last year, the company had dramatically reduced its Washington presence, following a bruising $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. regulators. That deal, coordinated by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, saw Zhao step down as CEO, pay a $50 million fine, and serve a four-month prison sentence for violations of anti-money laundering laws. Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to a single violation of the Bank Secrecy Act related to compliance failures. He left federal prison in September 2024, but his future role at Binance remains uncertain, though he is still the company’s largest shareholder as of October 2025, according to FOX Business.
The company’s comeback began to take shape as the political winds shifted in Washington. With Trump’s return to the White House, Binance and Zhao wasted no time in shoring up their legal and political defenses. In February 2025, they retained Teresa Goody Guillén, a prominent crypto attorney whose name had previously been floated for the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission under Trump. Her firm has since received nearly $290,000 in legal fees from Binance and Zhao, according to Politico.
Binance’s lobbying spending has surged as well. The company has already reported $860,000 in lobbying expenses for 2025 alone, a figure that underscores its renewed determination to influence U.S. policy. The exchange has also built ties to World Liberty Financial, a Trump-linked venture, further embedding itself within the administration’s inner circle. Recent photos have shown McDowell and Trump Jr. speaking with President Trump at a White House event, evidence of the close relationships Binance is leveraging in its campaign.
The political payoff for these efforts became clear last week, when President Trump granted a full pardon to Changpeng Zhao. The decision, which Politico described as a “remarkable turn of fortune” for the billionaire entrepreneur, followed months of high-powered lobbying and financial maneuvering. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, defended the move, stating, "President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency." Trump himself went even further, dismissing Zhao’s prosecution as "politically motivated" and insisting, "what he did is not even a crime."
Zhao, for his part, has pushed back against any suggestion of fraud or more serious wrongdoing. Responding to a FOX Business report, he noted, "Thank you Charles. Great news if true. Minor correction, there were no 'fraud' charges. I believe they (the DOJ under the last administration) looked very hard for it, but didn't find any. I pleaded to a single violation of Banking Secrecy Act (BSA)."
Not everyone in Washington is celebrating. Representative Maxine Waters, a longtime critic of the crypto industry, denounced the pardon as a "favor for crypto criminals," pointing to Zhao’s guilty plea and the billions Binance paid to settle with the Department of Justice. The episode has reignited fierce debate over the role of money, influence, and access in shaping policy and justice at the highest levels of government.
For Binance, though, the political climate has rarely looked sunnier. The administration has signaled a notably pro-crypto stance, with Binance’s new CEO, Richard Teng, declaring that "the future is bright" under Trump’s leadership. The company’s lobbying push is widely seen as part of a broader effort by the crypto industry to secure friendlier regulatory treatment, and to position the U.S. as a global leader in digital assets. The White House has even promised to make the country "the crypto capital of the world."
Meanwhile, the broader cryptocurrency market has been on a rollercoaster. Bitcoin surged to a record $126,000 earlier in October 2025, before settling back to around $111,000—a gain of more than 19% for the year, according to FOX Business. The sector has seen increased demand and support, with other exchanges like Bullish and Gemini going public, joining Coinbase on the list of major U.S.-listed crypto firms. Binance’s venture arm, YZi Labs, is doubling down on the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence, investing in projects like USD.AI, which focuses on stablecoin-backed financing for AI infrastructure.
Still, the industry faces ongoing scrutiny. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has sharply criticized stablecoins and proposed a global anti-money laundering compliance scoring system for cryptocurrencies. And while crypto investors are showing renewed enthusiasm, with Bitcoin dominance in the market rising to 54.9%—its highest since April 2021—regulatory and political uncertainty continues to hang over the sector.
The story of Binance’s political comeback is, at its core, a testament to the power of money, connections, and persistence in American politics. From the depths of legal jeopardy and reputational crisis, the company has engineered a return to favor at the highest levels—a saga that speaks volumes about the evolving relationship between Washington and the crypto industry. Whether this new era will bring lasting change or further controversy remains to be seen, but for now, Binance’s gamble on access and advocacy appears to have paid off.
