The post Trump-Binance links draw ‘corruption’ claims after CZ pardon – Here’s why appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Key Takeaways  Why are Trump-Binance ties under scrutiny again?  Trump’s pardon for CZ and Binance U.S.’s USD1 listing reignited concerns over political influence and regulatory fairness. What’s next for CZ?  The pardon restored his full civil and business rights, allowing a potential return to Binance’s leadership. President Donald Trump’s crypto empire has hit the headlines again after pardoning Binance [BNB] founder Changpeng Zhao, “CZ.”  According to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, CZ’s representatives allegedly reached out to Trump for a pardon with an offer. Part of the report read,  “Once Trump won, Binance formed a high-level task force to strike a deal with the Trumps’ nascent cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, that Binance could leverage into clemency for Zhao.” The World Liberty Financial [WLFI] is a DeFi project backed by the Trump family. It has several products, including the fast-growing stablecoin, USD1.  WSJ claimed that Binance was behind the team that helped WLFI develop the USD1. Additionally, the report noted that the exchange convinced an Emirati state investor to pay for a stake ($2B) in the platform via USD1.  Overall, the Trump-backed DeFi project accrued $1.4 billion in revenue in 2024, partly fueled by USD1 clout and the sales of its native token, WLFI.  Divergent opinions on CZ’s pardon However, WLFI denied influencing the CZ’s pardon. The company’s lawyer, Tom Clare, told WSJ that,  “World Liberty has never assisted in, facilitated, or influenced a decision on Mr. Zhao’s presidential pardon.” However, critics have called out the clemency as a “pay-to-play” scheme. The recent move to list USD1, days after the pardon on Binance U.S., has been met with suspicion and corruption claims.  Senator Chris Murphy slammed the move and called the White House a “full-time, 24/7 corruption machine.” Source: X A similar stance was taken by Sen. Elizabeth Warren.…

---

Filed under: News - @ October 30, 2025 9:28 pm