Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder of Binance, less than a year after Zhao pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. 

Revolut has secured a MiCA license from Cyprus’ financial regulator, allowing it to offer regulated crypto services across all 30 countries in the European Economic Area.

Aave Labs has acquired Stable Finance, a startup known for its simple onchain savings app. 

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Trump Pardons Binance Founder CZ After Bank Secrecy Act Conviction
• Revolut Gets Green Light to Offer Crypto Across EU Under New MiCA Rules
• Aave Labs Acquires Stable Finance to Broaden Retail Access to Onchain Savings

Trump Pardons Binance Founder CZ After Bank Secrecy Act Conviction

Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder of Binance, less than a year after Zhao pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. 

Zhao had served four months in prison and stepped down as CEO as part of a broader federal settlement.

Binance paid $4.3 billion to resolve charges that it failed to prevent illegal activity and served sanctioned users. Zhao personally paid a $50 million fine.

The pardon, confirmed Thursday, followed reports earlier this year that Zhao’s team had requested clemency. In a statement, Trump’s spokesperson called Zhao’s prosecution part of the Biden administration’s “war on crypto.”

Trump, asked why he issued the pardon, said, “A lot of people said that he wasn’t guilty of anything.”

The decision drew sharp criticism from Senator Elizabeth Warren, who accused Zhao of leveraging financial ties to Trump-linked ventures to secure the pardon.

Revolut Gets Green Light to Offer Crypto Across EU Under New MiCA Rules

Revolut has secured a MiCA license from Cyprus’ financial regulator, allowing it to offer regulated crypto services across all 30 countries in the European Economic Area.

The approval makes Cyprus the company’s crypto hub in the EU and positions Revolut among the first major fintech firms licensed under the bloc’s new digital asset rules.

Revolut plans to launch what it calls “Crypto 2.0”, a platform offering over 280 tokens, stablecoin-to-USD conversion at a 1:1 rate, and zero-fee staking with annual rewards of up to 22%.

The move aligns with the EU’s rollout of MiCA, which requires crypto firms to meet new compliance and transparency standards. Revolut said the license reflects its focus on building regulated digital asset products for the European market.

Aave Labs Acquires Stable Finance to Broaden Retail Access to Onchain Savings

Aave Labs has acquired Stable Finance, a startup known for its simple onchain savings app. 

The move brings founder Mario Baxter Cabrera and his team to Aave, where they’ll focus on building new consumer-facing DeFi products. Cabrera will become Director of Product.

Stable’s app lets users earn interest on crypto and dollars through stablecoin strategies, hiding the technical complexity behind a single interface. Aave will phase out the app and integrate its features into upcoming offerings.

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