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Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, aka CZ, denied a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that the Trump family had discussed buying a stake in the US arm of Binance, while saying he’s open to a presidential pardon.
”Sorry to disappoint,” CZ wrote in a March 13 post on X. ”The WSJ article got the facts wrong.”
The WSJ cited sources familiar with the matter as saying the Trump family had held talks with representatives of Donald Trump’s family last year to acquire a stake in Binance.US, the US business of the world’s largest crypto exchange,
At the same time, it added, billionaire Binance co-founder CZ has been ”pushing for the Trump administration to grant him a pardon.”
CZ Hits Back At WSJ Report
CZ hit back at the WSJ in his post on X, saying its article is a politically motivated “attack on the President and crypto.”
He added that the “residual forces” that were responsible for the “war on crypto” under the previous US administration seem to still be at work.
“Fact: I have had no discussions of a Binance US deal with … well, anyone,” CZ said.
CZ Pushing For Presidential Pardon, WSJ Says
CZ didn’t explicitly deny the WSJ’s report that he is pushing for a presidential pardon. He said that more than 20 people had told him the WSJ had asked them to confirm that he had made a deal for a pardon.
“In essence, they tried hard to make a story to report,” he said. “No felon would mind a pardon, especially being the only one in US history who was ever sentenced to prison for a single BSA charge,” he added, referring to the Bank Secrecy Act.
4. Sorry to disappoint. The WSJ article got the facts wrong.
More than 20 people have told me they were asked by the WSJ (and another media), “Can you confirm that CZ made some deal for a pardon?”
They probably asked hundreds of people to have 20 people reach out to me. In… https://t.co/ELyDPmKD3G
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) March 13, 2025
The WSJ story said a pardon for CZ would enable Binance to return to the US market, and might also make it easier for the exchange to do business abroad.
It added that it was unclear how the Trump family might take a stake in Binance.US, and whether it was contingent on CZ receiving a pardon.
The Trump family could buy a stake in Binance in various ways, including a deal via World Liberty Financial, their cryptocurrency business, the WSJ said.
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