DeFi News Daily Official TheBitTimes.com

President Donald Trump has officially pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of Binance known as CZ. The move erases Zhao’s 2023 conviction for anti-money laundering violations. Binance’s token BNB surged 15% to around $1,150 on the news. The full and unconditional pardon frees Zhao from further penalties after he served four months in prison and paid a $50 million fine. It also caps a fierce lobbying push by Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, amid Trump’s pro-crypto agenda. Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance, which enabled illicit activities including drug trafficking and terrorism financing. The exchange settled with the Justice Department for $4.3 billion, the largest penalty in crypto history. Zhao stepped down as CEO but retained majority ownership, and the pardon clears his path to potentially reclaim leadership and expand Binance in the US market. ...

KuCoin (KCS) is experiencing quite a surge, contrary to the market-wide sentiment. CoinGecko data shows that KCS’s price has rallied 1.2% in the daily charts, 16.1% in the weekly charts, 21.8% in the 14-day charts, 43% over the previous month, and 79.4% since September 2024. KuCoin’s latest rally comes amid the platform announcing its initiative to capture 10% of Dogecoin mining capacity. Source: CoinGecko Will Dogecoin Mining Send KuCoin To a New All-Time High? Source: Blockchain News KuCoin is launching the KuMining platform, which aims to give institutional investors exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) and Dogecoin (DOGE) hashrate. According to reports, the initiative will be backed by global mining facilities with 300 megawatts (MW) to 2 gigawatts (GW) of power resources. The Dogecoin and Bitcoin mining exposure may lead to increased interest in KuCoin (KCS). The asset is currently down by nearly 48% from its all-time high of $28.83. KCS hit its peak during the 2021 bull run, near...