In brief
- California Governor Gavin Newsom has launched a new website calling attention to Donald Trump’s presidential pardons, including those of crypto figures Changpeng Zhao, Ross Ulbricht, and the “BitMEX Bros.”
- Newsom’s move comes as Democrats raise concerns about Trump’s links to the crypto industry.
- Trump told Decrypt this week that he’ll “look at” pardoning Keonne Rodriguez, developer of Bitcoin privacy project Samourai Wallet.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has launched a website tracking what he calls President Donald Trump’s “criminal cronies,” a list that includes Trump himself alongside convicted drug lords, January 6 insurrectionists, and several prominent crypto figures who have received presidential pardons.
The tracker, unveiled Tuesday, spotlights Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht, and BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Gregory Dwyer, and Samuel Reed, among the recipients of Trump’s pardons.
“Governor Newsom is driving crime down—and Donald Trump is pardoning drug lords and driving criminals into government,” Newsom’s office said in a statement announcing the website, alongside new data showing violent crime declining across California’s major cities.
The crypto-heavy pardon list comes amid mounting Democratic concerns about Trump’s crypto dealings and potential conflicts of interest, entangling U.S. governance with private crypto interests.
Newsom supports “responsible crypto and blockchain innovation while prioritizing consumer protection, not fraud,” according to his office, positioning California as a counterweight to what Democrats characterize as Trump’s alleged corruption.
The launch came the same week that Decrypt asked President Trump whether he would consider pardoning Samourai Wallet developer Keonne Rodriguez.
“I’ll look at it,” the president said, leaving open the possibility of further crypto-related pardons.
CZ’s “full and unconditional” pardon
Changpeng Zhao’s “full and unconditional pardon” came after pleading guilty to money laundering charges for allowing illicit funds, including money flowing to “terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers,” through Binance’s platform, said Newsom.
Newsom’s site notes that Binance “was an important supporter of the Trump family’s own business,” World Liberty Financial, and mocks Trump’s claim that he doesn’t know Zhao, joking, “Maybe Sneaky Pete used the autopen while Trump slept?”
Last week, World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin became part of Binance’s core infrastructure, with Binance denying any connection between Zhao’s pardon and the expanded integration of USD1, calling such suggestions “false and defamatory.”
Silk Road and BitMEX
Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, the now-shuttered dark web marketplace that facilitated over $214 million in illegal drug sales (often via Bitcoin), received a pardon for his 2015 conviction on narcotics and money-laundering conspiracy charges.
The BitMEX co-founders all received pardons in March after pleading guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Trump also pardoned HDR Global Trading Limited, the corporation that owns the cryptocurrency exchange.
Decrypt has contacted the White House, CZ and Arthur Hayes for additional comment.
Democrats vs. Trump
Newsom’s site highlights what it calls Trump’s “crypto corruption,” claiming that the president’s family has “raked in at least $800 million dollars in crypto” since the start of 2025. The site also alleges that Trump’s SEC suspended an investigation into Tron founder Justin Sun “just weeks after Sun invested $75 million into Trump’s crypto company World Liberty Financial,” as well as accusing the president of “cashing in” on his TRUMP meme coin by offering tours of the White House to investors.
This isn’t the first time that Newsom has shone a spotlight on Trump’s crypto activities; in September, the California Governor said on the “Pivot” podcast he would release his own meme coin called “Trump Corruption Coin,” mocking the president’s TRUMP meme coin.
His website joins a widening chorus of Democratic criticism aimed at Trump’s connections with crypto projects.
Senator Elizabeth Warren’s letter this week to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi highlighted decentralized exchange PancakeSwap’s role in facilitating trading of USD1, and its reported use by North Korean backers to launder stolen crypto funds.
Meanwhile, House Democrats recently labeled the Trump White House “the world’s most corrupt crypto startup operation,” citing reports that the family earned more than $800 million in crypto ventures this year.
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