According to people familiar with the discussions, executives from cryptocurrency exchange Binance met with Treasury Department officials last month to talk about loosened U.S. government control of the company. The company was also considering a business partnership with a cryptocurrency venture owned by the Trump family.
According to others, the executives of Binance requested that Treasury officials in Washington have a U.S. monitor who keeps an eye on the exchange’s adherence to anti-money-laundering regulations removed. In 2023, the corporation entered a guilty plea to breaking those rules, and this action would be the first step toward bringing it back to the U.S. market.
World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company supported by President Trump’s family, has also been in talks with Binance to offer a new dollar-pegged cryptocurrency, according to several people familiar with the conversations. The family might make billions of dollars if the token, known as a stablecoin, is listed since it might propel it into a massive market.
Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, paid a record $4.3 billion penalty for enabling terrorists, drug traffickers, and sanctioned actors to transfer billions of dollars through its exchange. These transactions represent the beginning of a developing partnership between the Trump family and Binance. Binance had already started to negotiate deals with members of the Trump family before the Treasury talks.
World Liberty may be able to become a significant player in the cryptocurrency market because to Binance’s market dominance. Binance handles almost $65 billion worth of deals per day and boasts over 250 million users.
The more USD1 stablecoins are in use, the more the Trump family stands to gain from the assets that support the token’s value. The biggest stablecoin issuer, Tether, claimed a $13 billion profit in the previous year.
Given his presidential authority, Binance may be able to overcome its legal troubles. According to the company’s 2023 agreement with U.S. authorities, the once-freewheeling exchange was subject to strict requirements, including the removal of all American customers, the reporting of all prior suspicious transactions, and cooperation with two independent monitors appointed by the Justice and Treasury departments last May. The monitors were appointed for three and five years, respectively.
Binance is also requesting a pardon for Changpeng Zhao, its convicted founder. Zhao pleaded guilty to related crimes last year and served four months in prison; a pardon would facilitate the company’s return to the United States.
Representatives from the Trump family also met with Binance to discuss investing in the company, the company’s dormant U.S. branch that runs independently of the broader exchange, reported last month.
A Treasury official stated that the Binance meeting was one of dozens of sessions the agency has held with the cryptocurrency industry. A World Liberty spokesperson stated that the company’s goal is to make USD1 “accessible for millions globally.”
Zhao declined to reply via a Binance representative. Last month, Zhao stated on X that he has no business dealings with World Liberty and has not discussed a Binance.US transaction with anyone. He said, “No felon would mind a pardon.”
The remarkable momentum behind the revitalized U.S. cryptocurrency movement under the new Congress and administration is encouraging, according to a representative for Binance. In regulating digital assets, they are willing to assist any government that aims to strike a balance between innovation and user protections.
It doesn’t reveal who is or isn’t being considered for a pardon, according to a White House spokesperson.
“Ending Regulation by Prosecution”
Weeks before the inauguration, in December of last year, the Trumps and Binance met at a crypto conference in Abu Dhabi, which led to their cooperation. Zhao interacted with Trump loyalists, including incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son Eric in the “Whale Only” hideaway, which was only open to those who had purchased a $10,000 VIP admission, according to attendees. Witkoff assured guests that in the incoming administration, he will support cryptocurrency.
In addition to promoting World Liberty, which the Trumps had co-founded with Witkoff and his sons months earlier, Eric was there to herald the arrival of a golden age of digital currencies under his father. Tickets for the conference were discounted by 21% when the code “TRUMPPUMP21” was used. Requests for response from a representative for Eric and the Trump Organization were not answered.
The U.S. had been too harsh on the cryptocurrency business, according to Zhao, who at the time was seeking a pardon. “You want to use enforcement to stop regulation,” he remarked.
Business discussions take place on Binance.In the months following the summit, the USD1 stablecoin and US stake increased, according to those familiar with the talks.
Rapid progress was made by the Trump administration to relax crypto rules. In a memo titled “Ending Regulation by Prosecution,” the Justice Department announced that it had halted its corporate monitorships and dismantled its cryptocurrency unit, which had assisted in bringing the 2023 case against Binance.
Those with knowledge of the arrangement say that Binance still needs to deal with its Treasury-appointed monitor, which is seen as more burdensome.
The people claimed that Binance management had argued with the Treasury and, to a lesser degree, the Justice monitors over the monitors’ access to the business, including their capacity to conduct staff interviews and examine documentation.
Binance CEO Richard Teng and Chief Legal Officer Eleanor Hughes asked Treasury to either abolish the monitorship or shorten its term and scope during their meeting with the agency last month, according to sources with knowledge of the conversation.
According to Binance executives, the Trump administration is likely to comply. People involved with the discussions claimed that the exchange’s employees have been talking about modifications to its anti-money-laundering safeguards, which some employees perceived as an attempt to relax its checks on riskier customers.
According to the Binance representative, the monitors resulted in “inefficient and costly burdens.” He went on to say that Binance is “in the process of fine-tuning the rules but there is no loosening of controls.”
A string of cybercriminals
According to those involved with the talks, Binance started contacting Trump supporters toward the 2024 election. Internal task forces were established to investigate a Trump-led U.S. return and Zhao’s (CZ) pardon.
Zhao was already in contact with the World Liberty team prior to the December meeting. Zhao has been praised by Witkoff’s son Zach as a “wise man” on X. To assist launch its stablecoin, World Liberty hired Rich Teo, a close friend of Zhao’s, in October. Teo asked the judge presiding over the Binance owner’s case for leniency.
Nearly all of the top companies in the digital asset sector work with Binance, according to the World Liberty representative, who also expressed gratitude for CZ’s numerous contributions to the cryptocurrency space and, perhaps more importantly, for his charitable activities.
Nearly all of the top companies in the digital asset sector work with Binance, according to the World Liberty representative, who also expressed gratitude for CZ’s numerous contributions to the cryptocurrency space and, perhaps more importantly, for his charitable activities.
The adoption of Binance by the Trump family reflects an odd dynamic in the White House. The president and members of his inner circle now conduct business with the cryptocurrency tycoons that past administrations targeted for aiding the movement of funds by the U.S. government’s enemies, including Islamic terrorist organizations, Mexican drug cartels, Russian sanctions evaders, and international fraud rings.
A number of cryptocurrency criminals have previously been pardoned by Trump, including Arthur Hayes, co-founder of the BitMEX exchange, who entered a guilty plea to breaking the same anti-money-laundering legislation in the United States as Zhao.
The biggest outside investor in World Liberty and a consultant to the company is Justin Sun, the creator of the Tron blockchain network. Tron accounted for over half of all illegal cryptocurrency activity last year, or about $26 billion, according to blockchain researcher TRM Labs.
Following his $75 million investment in World Liberty’s token, the Securities and Exchange Commission requested in February that a court halt a fraud case against Sun.
People with knowledge of the case indicated that the Justice Department had been looking into Sun for possible financial crimes during the Biden administration. If the investigation is still continuing, it cannot be determined.
According to some of the people, Zhao consented to testify against Sun as part of his plea agreement with the prosecution. No prior reports of the arrangement have surfaced. No reaction was provided by the Justice Department.
Sun’s spokesperson denied commenting on “baseless allegations about legal matters” and denied that Tron facilitates illicit conduct.
Sun also mixed with VIPs in the backroom of the Abu Dhabi conference in December, distributing miniature replicas of a $6 million banana artwork he had recently purchased.
