Changpeng Zhao, widely known as CZ and former chief executive of Binance, said on the latest Crypto Banter podcast that some U.S.-based centralized crypto exchanges worked against his pardon request. According to his account, those competitors lobbied against him and applied pressure during related U.S. proceedings. The remarks point to competitive tensions within the digital asset industry, where centralized exchanges (crypto trading platforms run by companies) often face overlapping legal, regulatory, and market disputes.