The dismissal of charges against Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, is the Trump administration’s latest pullback in cryptocurrency enforcement.

Prior to the SEC lawsuit, Binance and Zhao were sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over compliance “evasion,” and in late 2023 the Justice Department charged Zhao with violating the Bank Secrecy Act. He pleaded guilty to the charge, paid a $50 million fine and was sentenced to four months in federal prison in 2024.