- Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has denied that President Donald Trump’s family are considering taking a stake in the exchange
- The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trumps were engaged in discussions to acquire a stake in Binance.US
- Talks reportedly began after Binance reached out to Trump’s allies, aiming to facilitate the company’s re-entry into the U.S. market
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has denied that the family of U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking a stake in Binance.US. The Wall Street Journal has reported that the Trump family is in negotiations to acquire a financial stake in Binance.US, the American subsidiary of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, initiated by Binance. The outlet reported that the discussions were an attempt to facilitate the exchange’s return to the U.S. market, a development that has sparked debates over potential conflicts of interest, particularly in light of former President Trump’s recent pro-cryptocurrency initiatives.
Binance’s Legal Challenges and U.S. Market Exit
Binance.US launched in September 2019 as a separate entity from its global parent, Binance, to comply with U.S. regulations. It initially operated under BAM Trading Services but faced increasing scrutiny over its independence. By 2021-2022, U.S. regulators began investigating the exchange for potentially violating securities laws and failing to maintain proper operational separation from Binance.com. Binance.US also struggled with banking partnerships, making it difficult for users to deposit and withdraw U.S. dollars.
In 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance and Binance.US, accusing them of operating as an unregistered securities exchange, leading to Zhao pleading guilty to anti-money laundering violations. Zhao stepped down as CEO after a mammoth $4.3 billion settlement, while Binance committed to implementing significant compliance measures, including withdrawing certain operations from the U.S. market.
Binance.US continues to operate with reduced services and trading volume, but it showed signs of life last month when it reinstated USD withdrawals, and if The Wall Street Journal is to be believed, it could be about to receive an injection of cash.
Trumps to Get Involved?
According to The Wall Street Journal, Binance approached allies of Donald Trump last year, proposing a business arrangement that would involve the Trump family acquiring a stake in Binance.US. The objective was to leverage the family’s influence to facilitate Binance’s re-entry into the U.S. market. Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer and longtime friend of the Trump family, has been identified as a key figure in these negotiations.
The prospective investment has raised eyebrows due to possible conflicts of interest. Trump has recently demonstrated support for the cryptocurrency industry, exemplified by his signing of an executive order to establish a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve. Critics argue that any financial involvement by the Trump family in a major cryptocurrency exchange could blur the lines between public policy and private interests.
Zhao took to X to deny suggestions of a deal, however, saying that the Journal “got the facts wrong”:
4. Sorry to disappoint. The WSJ article got the facts wrong.
More than 20 people have told me they were asked by the WSJ (and another media), “Can you confirm that CZ made some deal for a pardon?”
They probably asked hundreds of people to have 20 people reach out to me. In… https://t.co/ELyDPmKD3G
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) March 13, 2025
The Trumps are unlikely to respond to the story, so we will have to wait and see what develops to ascertain the truth of The Wall Street Journal’s reporting.
