Pardon of Binance's Zhao is 'rocket fuel' for BNB token ecosystem, says treasury CEO

President Donald Trump's pardoning of former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao could end up clearing the way for the billionaire executive to return to his post as head of the world's largest crypto exchange, according to some onlookers.

It also stands to elevate BNB coin — originally Binance's native token — to new heights of legitimacy, especially in the United States, argues David Namdar. The executive, who is chief executive officer of the digital asset treasury BNB Network, which holds 500,000 BNB tokens, said the pardon has removed an "overhang" that once marred the asset's reputation.

"Binance has continued to grow, BNB has continued to grow, despite everything that's happened," Namdar told The Block. He said the pardon could serve as "rocket fuel" for both the exchange and the token's ecosystem, spurring significant additional growth.

After pleading guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an "effective anti-money laundering program," Zhao served four months in a U.S. prison and was released last year. Part of his sentence included a lifetime ban from running Binance again.

Trump's pardon of Zhao was celebrated by many across the digital assets industry as Zhao, also known as CZ, is one of the most famous individuals in crypto.

Despite Binance's reach and BNB's number of holders, Namdar said that in the U.S., it's been common for research analysts who cover Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP to overlook BNB.

"You know 80% to 90% of the users on Binance hold and utilize BNB in order to pay reduced trading fees," he said.

BNB fifth-largest cryptocurrency

With a market cap of $158 billion, BNB is the fifth-largest cryptocurrency in the world. Namdar said that many people operating in the U.S. investor community, however, have steered clear of BNB, in part, because of the legal issues surrounding both Zhao and Binance.

Championing BNB is one of Namdar's chief duties as his company, BNB Network (officially CEA Industries), has adopted a strategy that involves accumulating the token. In August, the Nasdaq-listed CEA Industries raised $500 million through a private placement to buy BNB as its primary treasury reserve asset.

BNB was changing hands at $1,145.99 as of 1:39 p.m. ET, according to The Block Price Page. The token is up about 90% over the past year.

Namdar also seems to think that the pardon could pave the way for Binance's return to the U.S., which would be incredibly bullish for the token. "It's a strange phenomenon to have the largest exchange not be able take on U.S. customers," he said.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance's U.S. arm in 2023 for allegedly violating securities laws. That same year, Binance.US halted fiat deposits.