From the beginning of 2025 to October, the crypto world has witnessed a series of attention-grabbing pardon events. In January, Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, received a full pardon. By March, several key figures from BitMEX—co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Samuel Reed, and executive Gregory Dwyer—also received pardons after admitting to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.

What truly sparked heated discussion was the event in October. The decision to pardon Binance founder Zhao Changpeng immediately caused a stir. Many individuals, including Congressman Maxine Waters and Elizabeth Warren, began to question whether there was any benefit exchange behind the scenes. Reports indicated that Binance invested $2 billion in a stablecoin company called World Free Financial (WFLI), which could generate annual profits of $48 million to $52 million for the related parties. Zhao Changpeng firmly denied any benefit exchange, but public opinion remained lively. What trend do these series of pardon decisions reflect? The industry is still fiercely debating.