# Binance-Checkmate Government Relations Lobbying Retainer [[Binance]] pays [[Checkmate Government Relations]] to lobby Washington, and the payments are rising. Under the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act the firm reported: | Quarter (2026) | Reported income | Posted | |---|---|---| | Q1 | $450,000 | April 17 | | Q2 | $750,000 | July 16 | | Q3 | $750,000 | October 18 | That comes to **$1.95 million in nine months**, and the current pace is about **$3 million a year**. The client is Binance Holdings Ltd., registered in the Cayman Islands. ## What the money is for Each report lists the same two issues: "financial services policy issues relating to digital assets and cryptocurrency; and **executive relief**." Executive relief means action by the president, such as a pardon or commutation, rather than by Congress or an agency. The only lobbyist named is [[Ches McDowell]], Checkmate's managing partner. He is the lobbyist through whom Binance founder [[Changpeng Zhao]] pursued his pardon, which [[Donald Trump]] granted in October 2025. A year after that pardon, "executive relief" is still on the filing and the fees have gone up. The filings don't say what relief is now being sought. > [!note] What a lobbying report does and does not show > These are quarterly reports the lobbying firm is legally required to file. The dollar figures are what Checkmate says it was paid, rounded to the nearest $10,000. The reports name the issues and the lobbyist, but not whom he met. This one also lists no agencies. ## Other firms working for Binance in 2026 Checkmate is by far Binance's largest lobbying spend. Smaller 2026 filings for Binance entities came from Baker & Hostetler (Q1 $70,000, terminated in Q2), Perspective Strategies and Capitol Resources ($30,000 a quarter, terminated in Q3), and, for Binance.US, GD Mountain Insights and Woden Strategies. ## See Also - [[Binance]] - [[Checkmate Government Relations]] - [[Ches McDowell]] - [[Changpeng Zhao]]