Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has denied the concept he had any enterprise ties to President Donald Trump’s household, calling the claims a whole misunderstanding.
“There isn’t any enterprise relationship in any respect,” CZ instructed CNBC on the World Financial Discussion board in Davos. He mentioned individuals are studying an excessive amount of into the post-2025 pardon occasions, significantly these surrounding using stablecoins associated to Trump’s kinfolk.
The rumors started after President Trump’s pardon in October 2025, a 12 months after CZ was launched from jail. He served 4 months in jail after pleading responsible in 2023 to permitting cash laundering at Binance whereas he was CEO.
A part of the plea settlement included resigning from the corporate and paying a $4.3 billion settlement to the Division of Justice. Though he has left his put up, he stays one of many change’s main shareholders.
$2 billion stablecoin fee from Abu Dhabi sparks hypothesis
The turmoil started with a $2 billion funding that Binance acquired in March 2025 from Abu Dhabi’s state-owned funding firm MGX.
MGX made the funds as an alternative of transferring money straight. 1 greenbacka stablecoin created by World Liberty Monetary, a cryptocurrency firm began by the Trump household. That is what began all of the suspicions.
“MGX is an investor. They select 1 greenback“My request to them was that they pay us in cryptocurrency,” CZ mentioned. I do not actually wish to do enterprise with banks. “He mentioned that folks assume it’s unsuitable to simply accept 1 greenback That meant he had enterprise with the Trump household. “Lots of people misunderstand that.”
CZ defined that Binance doesn’t maintain stablecoins.
As an alternative, they transformed it into different belongings over time. “A stablecoin is solely a fee forex. Accepting it doesn’t imply you may have invested in its issuer.”
World Liberty Monetary spokesman David Waxman denied any connection to the pardon. “WLFI just isn’t a political group and performs no function within the amnesty course of. It’s harmful and false to recommend in any other case.”
Nonetheless, the Wall Road Journal later mentioned that Binance additionally helped construct the expertise behind it. 1 greenbackmentioned, citing an nameless supply.
Requested why he granted the pardon, President Trump mentioned, “Lots of people say he did nothing unsuitable. So I pardoned him on the request of plenty of excellent individuals.”
Lobbyist funds and tokenized shares are again within the headlines
On the identical time, NBC Information reported that Binance employed a lobbying agency referred to as Checkmate Authorities Relations. The corporate is run by Charles McDowell, a good friend of Donald Trump Jr.
The corporate introduced it paid $450,000 to foyer each the White Home and the Treasury Division selling “administrative reduction” and coverage actions associated to cryptocurrencies and monetary companies.
CZ denied any connection between lobbying and the pardon. “Many media shops are saying that there’s some type of deal to grant me amnesty, however so far as I do know, there isn’t a such factor in any respect.”
He additionally mentioned he had not but spoken to President Trump. “The closest I used to be to him was as we speak when he was conducting a peace committee session. I used to be within the viewers about 30 to 40 toes from him.”
As this example continues, Binance is bringing again tokenized inventory buying and selling, a characteristic that was discontinued in 2021. These inventory tokens are blockchain-based representations of precise shares in firms like Apple and Microsoft, permitting individuals to purchase smaller items with out proudly owning the total inventory.
A Binance spokesperson instructed The Data: “Binance is dedicated to bridging conventional finance and cryptocurrencies and increasing person alternative, whereas sustaining the best regulatory requirements. Since final 12 months, now we have began supporting tokenized real-world belongings and lately launched the primary regulated TradFi perpetual contract settled in stablecoins.”
They additional added, “As we proceed to aggressively construct our infrastructure, accomplice with conventional establishments, and develop revolutionary options for our customers and the business, exploring the opportunity of providing tokenized equities is a pure subsequent step in our mission to convey TradFi and cryptocurrencies nearer collectively.”
