US lawmakers have started accusing crypto exchange Binance of supporting Trump family projects like World Liberty Financial (WLFI), and its native stablecoin USD1, soon after the pardon of founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ). The crypto exchange has responded to these fresh attacks, calling it a pure “business decision” and nothing political about it. The fresh wave of attacks comes following a recent prison pardon by the Trump administration last week, and rumors of CZ returning to his firm.
Binance Responds to Senator Chris Murphy
Binance has issued a statement addressing comments from U.S. Senator Chris Murphy regarding its recent token listings. Five days after Changpeng Zhao’s pardon on October 23, the US arm of the crypto exchange opened up deposits for the USD1 stablecoin, the native stablecoin of the Trump family project World Liberty Financial. Responding to this development, US Senator from Connecticut, Chris Murphy stated:
“One week after Trump pardoned Binance’s owner (for a stunning array of crimes related to terrorist and sex predator financing), Binance starts promoting Trump crypto. The White House is a full time, 24/7 corruption machine”.
Responding to these allegations, the exchange said that it undergoes “comprehensive due diligence and legal review.” BinanceUS noted that both USD1 and WLFI are already available on more than 20 major exchanges, including Coinbase, Robinhood, and Kraken. Thus, the exchange referred to it as a normal business decision, and that their core committee had previously approved the listing.
Binance described the listings as “purely business decisions” and expressed concern that “even routine business decisions are now being unfairly politicized by elected officials.” Following the recent allegations of fraud by Senator Elizabeth Warren, founder Changpeng Zhao has moved forward to file a defamation case against Warren.
WSJ Cites CZ and Trump Family Agreements
The latest WSJ report notes that around the election period, representatives of Changpeng Zhao reportedly initiated talks with allies of Donald Trump, seeking to resolve Binance’s ongoing legal issues in the United States. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the discussions included a proposal involving a potential business arrangement with a Trump family venture. The latest developments have sparked speculations of CZ’s return to Binance, however, he has denied any such development.
Following Trump’s victory, Binance is said to have assembled a senior task force aimed at negotiating a partnership with the Trump family’s emerging cryptocurrency project, World Liberty Financial, in hopes that such a deal could help secure favorable consideration for Zhao, sources added.
