Binance Helped Trump Family’s Crypto Venture Make Billions — Weeks Before Trump Pardoned Its CEO

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, allegedly helped the Trump family’s crypto venture rake in billions — just before Donald Trump pardoned the company’s founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, according to a bombshell new report.

Zhao, who was convicted in 2023 for enabling money laundering and violating the Bank Secrecy Act, served four months in prison before Trump granted him a pardon last week. The former president defended the move by claiming Zhao was a “victim of Biden’s war on crypto.”

But according to The Wall Street Journal, Binance had quietly been working behind the scenes to strike a lucrative deal with World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company controlled by the Trump family.

After Binance joined forces with World Liberty, the company’s “stablecoin” — a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar — reportedly skyrocketed from $127 million to more than $2.1 billion in value. Around the same time, an Emirati state-backed fund invested $2 billion into Zhao’s company, a move that may have netted the Trump-linked crypto venture tens of millions in interest.

While both Binance and World Liberty denied any impropriety, the timing of the pardon raised eyebrows — especially since the two sides had been in “months-long contact” about Zhao’s clemency, according to the WSJ.

Trump’s team insists there was nothing improper. “Neither President Trump nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest,” a White House spokesperson told reporters.

Still, critics weren’t convinced. Senator Elizabeth Warren slammed the pardon as “a mockery of justice,” accusing Trump of “selling pardons to anyone who can personally profit him.”

Even some of Trump’s supporters were uneasy. Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, a Trump ally, warned the move “makes it look like massive fraud is happening around him in this area.”

The controversy has only deepened since Zhao’s release. After returning home in September, Zhao and his co-founder (and partner) Yi He were spotted mingling with Trump associates and business leaders at events in Abu Dhabi — including Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, and real estate mogul Steve Witkoff.

The reports suggest Binance’s influence could once again surge in the U.S. now that Trump is back in power — potentially restoring a crypto empire built on controversy, loyalty, and billions in digital gold.