Binance According to reports, talks with Donald Trump’s family members were held to take a share in digital asset Exchange, but founder Changpeng ‘cz’ zhao Denied that he lobbyed the US president for a criminal pardon.
On the 13th of March, Wall Street Journal Reported “Representatives of President Trump’s family has held calls to take an economic share” in Binance’s US-focused Binance.us offshoot. Binance.us has been fighting since then $ 4.3 billion legal solution Its parent company reached the US Justice Department (DOJ) and other federal authorities in November 2023, which led to disruptions in one’s ability to trade with us banks.
The Talks Reportedly Began After Binance Execs “Reached Out to Allies of Trump Last Year Offering to Strike A Business Deal With The Family as Part of a Plan to Return The Exiled Company to the Us” Said Allies Reportedly Include Steve Witkoff, a Longtime Friend of Middle East (And, apparently, Russia).
The White House denied Witkoff’s involvement in all Binance calls and added that Witkoff is selling from his business interests. Witkoff founded World freedom economic (WLF), Trumps Decentralized funding (Defi) Project. WSJ claimed that a binance business could be done either through the Trump family that took a direct share or did it via WLF.
Bloomberg then reported The fact that WLF and Binance had discussed the possibility of jointly developing an American Dollar-Den-dominated StableCoin but could not say how far these calls developed or whether any business could be reached. Rumors of a WLF-based Stablecoin show up in October last year, but a little has been heard about this topic since then.
Don’t be me
CZ denied something WSJ’s report through its X account, favorable The report “got facts wrong.” CZ said that “I have not had any discussions about a binance American handling with … Yes, someone”, which does not exclude the possibility that other binance stakeholders or leading Execs had such discussions.
In one separately TweetCZ accused Bloomberg of writing a “basic hit piece” based on WSJ’s reporting. CZ called Bloomberg’s article “purely imaginary” and claimed that “I/Binance has no business agreements with WLF or those mentioned in its article. We also did not buy any of WLF coins.”
Please note that CZ does not deny that meetings or calls took place, only that he did not personally participate and that no business has yet been reached. (And it’s not like CZ has not been known for Spreading obvious falsehoods When he feels it is in his interest to do so.) No statement has yet been issued by WLF, the Trump organization or any current Binance Execs.
At a Singapore conference just before WSJ’s report, Binance CEO Richard Teng praised Trump’s “pro -Crypto” position and said: “In the crypto industry, people prefer the current administration over the last.” Teng also praised Trump’s latest ‘Strategic Bitcoin Reserve’ announcement as a “landmark” step that will stimulate similar features of other nations.
Following Binance’s legal settlement, the US market share for binance.us fell from 27% to 1%. Last month, binance.us regained limited access to US dollar servicesBut the exchange is still a ghost town and registers only $ 10 million in daily trade volume on March 13.
Teng said last month that binance.us would have “a new reset and restart” thanks Trump’s embrace of the digital asset sector And the resulting Attitude shifts by US regulatory authorities-including those in the banking sector.
WSJ was already on the president’s naughty list for criticizing his economic strategies, especially for introducing or threatening to introduce penalties for many of the US’s largest trading partner, including Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
March 13, just before WSJ’s Binance Article was published, Trump Posted To his Trump Media-owned truth social platform such as “(T) he globalist Wall Street Journal has no idea what they do or say.” The post seemed to focus on WSJ’s criticism of his customs rather than the alleged binance trump discussions.
Excuse
As WSJ notes, while Trump has done large banks from his various crypto activities – including WLF, Memecoins He and his wife Melania issued and his multiple Non-fungible tokens (NFT) Collections – A Binance Investment would be a horse in a different color, given that CZ remains both Binance’s largest shareholder and a convicted criminal.
In April 2024, as part of the DOJ solution in 2023, CZ was sentenced to four months in federal prison after invoking charges of charges of violating and getting a financial institution to violate the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). However, WSJ reported that CZ “has driven for the Trump administration to give him a pardon.”
CZ’s on March 13 Tweet said that “(m) ore than 20 people” told him that they had received media requests that asked them to confirm if he had “done part of a pardon”, and added that “(n) o Felon would have anything against a pardon, especially to be the only one in US history ever sentenced to prison for a single BSA.”
Bloomberg’s report claimed that CZ had met Witkoff in December last year, three months after he stopped serving his four-month judgment, in Abu Dhabi at the BTC MENA 2024 conference. While CZ denied a meeting with someone regarding a binance.us business, he did not deny that he or other individuals may ask for a pardon on behalf of CZ.
As part of CZ’s basic agreement, he was forced to resign from all executive roles at Binance. A pardon would eliminate this limitation, giving CZ a powerful incentive for Curry Trump’s advantage. It can also open regulatory doors in other markets that tend to wrinkle on companies owned by criminals.
When asked why stores like WSJ and Bloomberg continue to write articles that reflect negatively on Binance, CZ went full conspiracy theorist, requested Whether these stores “can get paid to do it?” CZ offered no theories about who may be willing to pay to see him and Binance took down a stick.
Yi he, binance founder and mother of cz’s child, took a slightly different thanks, suggests CZ “try and apply” for forgiveness. “What if the amnesty actually happens? Believe that good things will always happen. “Yi he got helpful Trump in her tweet.
Justin flamed this track
It’s not like the Trump family seems to be so intimidated by the opportunity to cooperate with a crypto nee is doing well. After all, Trump himself is a convicted criminalEven though he was granted an unconditional discharge After winning November’s presidential election last year.
For several years now, Throne founder Justin Sun have been subject to Condemned media reports– although some of his allegedly fraudulent activities are about to be forgiven by US Securities and Exchange Commission (Sec) – but that did not prevent WLF from Makes the sun an adviser In November last year.
Sun’s appointment came shortly after he went to WLF’s financial rescue of To buy $ 30 million of its “steering” token WLFI. Subsequent purchases, Sun’s WLFI share increased to $ 75 million, making him one of WLFI’s most profiled whales.
Sun’s purchase came as Sales of WLFI decreased dramatically Following the initial coin supply in October, which resulted in only about $ 21 million of its original target of $ 300 million in WLFI sold. Sun’s Buys also put money directly into the pockets of Trump’s family; As a Trump-owned company, it was possible to get 75% of WLF’s net revenue-incumbent on WLFI sales-to the top topped $ 30 million.
The WSJ report claimed that Binance’s Senior Execs saw a “potential legal gaming book” in WLF’s embrace by Sun. Binance even considered making a similar large WLF investment as a direct quid -pro quo for CZ’s pardon. The normally chatting sun has not yet commented on the WSJ report in public.
Abu Dhabi to the rescue
Last month, both CZ and Yi denied rumors that Binance was shopping for a purchase/takeover, with both who claimed that rumors originated from unspecified “competitor (s)”. But while CZ said: “Binance is not for sale”, he proposed “We can allow certain investments in single -digit percentage range.” Yi he Added That bin would not “exclude the introduction of strategic partners and is open to mergers and acquisitions.”
On March 12 Binance announced The fact that MGX Fund Management Ltd had taken a share of $ 2 billion in the company and marked not only the first institutional investment in binance but the largest individual investment in any crypto company as well as the largest investment made through Stablecoin. The specific Stablecoin (s) used in this investment did not go mentioned.
MGX is owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government and was formed to increase the state’s efforts in artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced technology. MGX has made investments in OuenaThe Data tagsAnd Elon Musk Xai while it contributes to Stargate Projectwhich aims to develop the US infrastructure for Openai.
Binance CEO Teng – who previously served as CEO of Abu Dhabi Financial Services Authority – called the investment “a significant milestone for the crypto industry and for Binance. Together, we shape the future of digital funding … Our ongoing investments in security and compliance reinforce our mission to promote a safe and reliable digital economic ecosystem. “
MGX CEO Ahmed Yahia said that the investment “reflects our commitment to promoting blockchain’s transformative potential for digital financing. When institutional adoption accelerates, the need for safe, compatible and scalable blockchain infrastructure and solutions has never been greater. “
Some observers have questioned why Binance-the undeniable market-leading exchange in the case of trade volume-would seek such a large investment of an external unit.
The company’s 2024 ‘Years in Review Report Talked about the exchange exceeding $ 160 billion in user assets under custody for the first time, while it is $ 30 billion in inflows “exceeds the combined sum of the next ten largest cryptop platforms by a significant margin.”
Binance Earn saw its total value locked grow by 144% last year, while Binance Pay’s active user base grew by 226%. The average daily trading volume increased by 27%and cumulative trade volume over all products topped $ 100 trillion.
So it is unlikely that Binance’s profits have taken a serious trip to the worse. It is unless all of these upgrades of court orderly compliance Take a larger distance out of the exchange’s end line than they have released. (The company now claims to have 650 compliance personnel on its salary, which can be 650 more than prevention.)
Some have noted that while Binance continues to deny that any jurisdiction is its official headquarters, one fifth of its global labor UAE-based, so there are many reasons to keep the local authorities happy and economically invested in the future of the bees.
Others have noticed that DOJ’s schedule In order for Binance to pay the final part of $ 1.8 billion of $ 4.3 billion penalties every 15 months after CZ’s judgmentthat occurred on April 30, 2024. It sets the deadline for the final delivery of $ 1.8 billion at the end of July 2025. Hmmm …
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