President Donald Trump’s latest pardon has sparked backlash from one of his own allies. Venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of Palantir Technologies and a longtime Trump supporter, took to social media Thursday to criticize the president’s decision to pardon Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Zhao, widely known as “CZ,” pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating U.S. money-laundering rules. He served four months in prison after authorities accused Binance of failing to prevent the transfer of funds linked to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers. Then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the company’s failures had “serious national security implications.”
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Despite that history, Trump pardoned Zhao this week, prompting a flood of reactions from both the crypto world and political circles. Zhao quickly posted on X, writing, “Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.”
But not everyone was celebrating. Joe Lonsdale, who once called Trump’s presidency “possibly the greatest” of his lifetime, blasted the decision in a post of his own. “If I’m calling balls and strikes, these are hit-by-pitches!!” he wrote, adding, “POTUS has been terribly advised on this; it makes it look like massive fraud is happening around him in this area.”
Even while expressing admiration for Trump’s broader agenda, Lonsdale made it clear this move crossed a line. “I do love a lot of other things going on; the goal of this post is to influence future policy in a positive direction,” he explained in a follow-up comment.
When asked at the White House why he chose to pardon Zhao, Trump appeared nonchalant. “I don’t know. He was recommended by a lot of people,” he told reporters. “A lot of people say that he wasn’t guilty of anything… and so I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of very good people.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the decision, saying Trump was “exercising his constitutional authority” to grant clemency. When pressed about whether the pardon represented a conflict of interest—given Zhao’s connections to World Liberty Financial, a Trump family crypto venture—Leavitt dismissed the suggestion.
Zhao has been one of the most visible backers of World Liberty Financial, which the Trump family launched last year to attract crypto investors and influencers. The timing of the pardon has fueled criticism that Trump’s move could appear self-serving.
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The controversy also comes on the heels of Binance’s legal troubles. In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped a major lawsuit against the company after accusing it of inflating trading volumes and illegally serving U.S. users, according to CNBC.
Meanwhile, the White House revealed Thursday that Palantir—Lonsdale’s company—is among the firms contributing to Trump’s planned $300 billion presidential ballroom project. The irony wasn’t lost on observers: one of Trump’s biggest donors is now one of his loudest critics.