Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder of #Binance, firmly denied allegations published by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) suggesting discussions between President Donald Trump's family and Binance for investing in the company's U.S. arm #Binance.US, or any connection to the Trump-backed cryptocurrency project World Liberty Financial (WLF).
In a post on platform X dated March 13, 2025, CZ confirmed that "no discussions have taken place regarding a deal involving Binance.US with anyone," describing the WSJ report as "getting the facts wrong" and seeming like "an attack on the president and cryptocurrencies." He also denied any business relationship with WLF, indicating that Binance did not purchase any WLF coins. CZ noted that over 20 people informed him that the WSJ contacted them to confirm whether he had "struck a deal for a pardon," suggesting that the newspaper may have actively sought confirmations for a narrative that was not supported.
CZ also rejected a similar report from Bloomberg, calling it "a baseless accusation" and "purely fictional," asserting that Binance has no business dealings with WLF or the individuals mentioned in the article.
He suggested that these reports may be politically driven, pointing to "the remaining forces of the war on cryptocurrencies" from the previous administration. These claims come in the context of reports about Binance's attempts to return to the U.S. market after a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities in 2023, where CZ pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws and spent four months in prison. Despite denying any discussions about a pardon, CZ indicated that "no criminal would refuse a pardon," especially as he is "the only person in U.S. history to be sentenced to prison for a single charge related to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)."
On the other hand, the reports raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, especially with individuals from the Trump family or projects like WLF allegedly in talks to develop a dollar-backed stablecoin with #Binance. However, neither WLF nor the Trump Organization has issued official statements confirming these discussions, and the WSJ report did not provide concrete evidence of Trump's or CZ's direct involvement.
The situation remains unclear, with ongoing speculation about the motivations behind these reports amid the evolving regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies in the United States under the Trump administration, which has been supportive of cryptocurrencies (translated)
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