(Feb 23): Just months after receiving a presidential pardon, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao appeared at Mar-a-Lago last week, placing himself squarely in the Trump family’s crypto orbit.
His appearance at a forum hosted by World Liberty Financial, the Trumps’ cryptocurrency venture, marked his highest-profile US outing since the pardon. In an interview with Bloomberg News, the former chief executive outlined what he sees as opportunities for Binance.US as America reasserts itself as the hub for digital assets.
“We want to do much more business in the US,” Zhao said at US President Donald Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida. “We want to bring a superior product into the US. We want to make the superior product offering much more accessible to the US consumer.”
Zhao, known as “CZ,” stepped down as chief executive officer of Binance Holdings Ltd in 2023 after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme at the global exchange. As part of that resolution, he was allowed to retain his ownership stake.
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao said options that once seemed out of reach — including deeper banking ties or even pursuing a charter — are now 'totally possible'.
See also: Bitcoin jumps above US$66,000 ahead of Trump address
He remains a majority shareholder of Binance.US, a US-based exchange that operates under the Binance brand and has its own management team.
Zhao emphasised that his remarks concerned Binance.US, not the global exchange. “I don’t run Binance,” he said, calling that role “a chapter that’s closed”. He described his expertise as primarily technical, not regulatory.
Zhao lives in the United Arab Emirates with his partner Yi He, who in December was appointed co-chief executive officer of Binance. The two have children together.
See also: Bitcoin heads for worst month since crypto collapse of June 2022
Although Zhao said he sees potential for Binance.US, he acknowledged it faces hurdles after losing significant banking access and market share following a 2023 lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which was dropped last year under Trump-appointed chairman Paul Atkins. With what he described as a more accommodating regulatory climate, Zhao said options that once seemed out of reach — including deeper banking ties or even pursuing a charter — are now “totally possible”, though he stressed any such move would depend on the right team and legal guidance.
Binance’s global entity pleaded guilty to federal charges and agreed to pay billions in fines in 2023. Binance.US was not part of that Justice Department resolution, though it has faced regulatory scrutiny.
In response to questions about Zhao’s comments, a Binance.US spokeswoman said the company “remains committed to being the best platform for users to buy, trade, and earn digital assets in the US. We continue to actively build and grow our platform through new products and offerings, enhancing our ability to deliver an experience that meets the evolving needs of crypto investors.”
Binance has promoted World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin, and the token was later used to settle a US$2 billion investment in the exchange by Abu Dhabi-based MGX. Binance co-CEO Richard Teng later said the exchange did not choose the payment token.
Asked about those ties, Zhao said teams within the BNB Chain ecosystem — a blockchain founded by Binance — provided technical assistance related to USD1, describing such support as “quite normal” for projects launching on the network.
Those connections, combined with Trump’s pardon of CZ, have led to questions from Democratic lawmakers and others about conflicts of interest.
In the interview, Zhao took exception to the idea that his presence at the exclusive Mar-a-Lago soiree might raise eyebrows, saying he goes to dozens of events each year.
“This is a premier group of people that very few other crypto conferences can invite,” Zhao said. “What’s the issue for me to attend a conference?”
Uploaded by Felyx Teoh
