Binance CEO Richard Teng denied reports that Binance.US was successful woody talks with entities affiliated with US President Donald Trump during a March 18 sheet astatine Blockworks’ 2025 Digital Asset Summit successful New York.
Teng’s connection reiterated the presumption taken by Binance’s founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, and Trump, some of whom denied the communicative past week.
On March 13, The Wall Street Journal reported that Binance.US, an independently-operated US cryptocurrency exchange, was discussing selling an equity involvement to Trump-affiliated concern entities, including a imaginable woody with World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s decentralized concern (DeFi) project.
“I judge some World Liberty Financial arsenic good arsenic CZ himself person tweeted and denied the reforms, right? So that there’s truly thing other to add,” Teng said during the summit, which was attended by Cointelegraph.
Richard Teng speaking astatine Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit successful New York. Source: Cointelegraph
Related: Donald Trump’s memecoin generated $350M for creators: Report
Teng stated that Binance.US is legally and operationally chiseled from its larger namesake.
“US and dotcom are rather antithetic animals, right? They person antithetic acceptable of shareholders, they person antithetic committee of directors and antithetic CEO moving the show,” helium said.
However, Teng did praise Trump, saying that Binance has benefited from the president’s “pro-crypto” policies contempt not straight operating successful the US.
“Last twelvemonth was a landmark twelvemonth successful that institutions are yet coming connected board,” Teng said.
“With President Trump coming retired with some [a] strategical crypto reserve oregon plus stockpile, it volition unit governments astir the satellite […] to look astatine this abstraction rather seriously.”In a departure from his predecessor, Joe Biden, Trump has said helium wants to marque America the “world’s crypto capital” and has appointed pro-industry enactment to cardinal regulatory posts.
Source: CZ
Potential conflicts of interest
Citing sources acquainted with the matter, The Wall Street Journal study mentioned that CZ — who served 4 months successful situation successful the US — has been pushing for the Trump medication to assistance him a pardon.
“It is unclear what signifier the Trump household involvement would instrumentality if the woody comes unneurotic oregon whether it would beryllium contingent connected a pardon,” the study said.
Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, but Binance.US lags Coinbase successful the US market.
CZ denied the study successful an X post published the aforesaid day. Trump besides denied the study successful a station connected Truth Social, his societal media platform.
“The Globalist Wall Street Journal has nary thought what they are doing oregon saying. They are owned by the polluted reasoning of the European Union, which was formed for the superior intent of ‘screwing’ the United States of America,” the president wrote.
Trump’s Jan. 18 memecoin motorboat and his ties to crypto steadfast World Liberty Financial person upturned norms for US presidents and raised concerns astir imaginable conflicts of interest, experts person said.
Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures rise struggle of interest, insider trading questions