On Oct. 23, BNB saw a nearly 6% price surge after U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, raising its market capitalization over $157 billion.
The Pardon and CZ’s Reaction
BNB experienced a rapid price surge of nearly 6% on Oct. 23, immediately following the news that U.S. President Donald Trump had granted a pardon to Binance founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao (also known as CZ).
Starting the day just above $1,060, BNB spiked to a high of $1,148 in approximately 30 minutes before stabilizing around $1,130. This surge propelled BNB’s market capitalization to over $157 billion, solidifying its rank as the fourth-largest digital asset, ahead of XRP. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the pardon granted on October 22nd followed months of quiet efforts by CZ to bolster the Trump family’s own crypto enterprise.
Reacting to the announcement, CZ expressed his gratitude and renewed commitment to the industry:
“Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice. Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance web3 worldwide.”
The timing of the pardon caught many market participants off guard. Although rumors of the Trump administration considering clemency had been circulating, the odds had thinned significantly. On the prediction market Polymarket, the probability of Trump granting the pardon by Oct. 31 had plummeted from 50% on Oct. 11 to just 5% hours before the announcement.
Despite the low public odds—possibly due to Binance’s alleged role in the Oct. 10 liquidation cascade—some bettors remained convinced that CZ’s efforts to support the Trump crypto enterprise would ultimately pay off. In a notable outcome, one bettor reportedly pocketed nearly $1 million in profit after the pardon was made public.
The market reaction was not limited to BNB. Aster, another digital asset associated with the Binance founder, also saw a rapid spike. Coingecko data shows that Aster, which had dipped below $1 for the first time since Sept. 20 just a day earlier, jumped by over 12% to reach $1.08 following the news.
Today is a good day, I made $956K in profit on Polymarket betting that Trump would pardon CZ.
It was obvious, especially after CZ invested over $2B into WLFUSD Stablecoin. That move practically screamed pay-for-pardon. pic.twitter.com/Zvjkw5I4wU
— Jacob King (@JacobKinge) October 23, 2025
Source:Lovinghananews.com
