WSJ: Trump May Invest in Binance.US and Officially Pardon CZ

Key Points

• The Trump family has been reportedly in talks with Binance for a stake in its US arm.
• Also, Binance’s founder, CZ, could get a pardon from Trump following his 2023 guilty plea.

According to the latest reports from The Wall Street Journal, the Trump family has been in talks with the biggest crypto exchange in the world, Binance, potentially aiming for a stake in the exchange’s US arm.

More than that, the same reports revealed that Binance’s founder Changpeng Zhao, aka CZ, has talked with the current US administration hoping to obtain a pardon following his 2023 guilty plea deal.

Both matters are extremely important for Binance as they could have crucial effects on the crypto exchange and the whole digital asset ecosystem which has been strongly supporting CZ.

Trump Family Could Take a Stake in Binance.US

The Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the situation and said that representatives of the Trump family in the US have held talks to take a financial stake in the US arm of Binance.

This would make Trump an official collaboration with Binance.

According to official reports, the talks began after Binance reached out to allies of Trump in 2024, offering to strike a business deal with the Presidential family, as part of a plan to return the company to the US.

Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that Binance US has recently restarted its operations in the country, announcing that it resumed USD deposits and withdrawals for eligible customers following its 2023 halt.

It’s not yet clear what exact form the Trump family stake would take if the deal is finalized eventually. WSJ noted that the possibilities include that the Trump family would take the stake or the deal going through World Liberty Financial (WLFI) – the family’s crypto project.

So far, it’s important to note that among WLFI’s crypto reserves, BNB is also present, according to Arkham Intelligence .

At the moment, BInance’s co-founder, CZ is the biggest shareholder in the exchange.

Trump Could Give CZ a Pardon

WSJ revealed another important issue – the fact that CZ, has been pushing for receiving a pardon, according to the same sources cited above.

This comes after CZ served four months in jail, following his guilty plea in 2023. The publication hinted at the possibility that if the Trump-Binance deal comes together, it could be contingent on a pardon for CZ.

Trump’s friend and top negotiator in the Middle East and Ukraine war, Steve Witkoff, has reportedly been involved in the talks for a deal, according to WSJ’s sources. However, an administration official denied his involvement, saying that he is in the process of divesting from his business interests.

Binance Marks Important Milestones

The bullish news regarding Binance and CZ comes following a huge achievement that the crypto exchange recently marked. Abu Dhabi’s MGX AI and advanced tech investor has just invested $2 billion in BInance, marking the biggest crypto investment ever and the exchange’s first institutional investment.

Now, MGX has a minority stake in Binance, according to official reports.

If the Trump family were to become a Binance investor as well, this would only boost the exchange’s success as the US President has already proven he keeps his Bitcoin and crypto promises, strongly supporting the industry.

Also, the crypto industry would celebrate CZ’s pardon, considering everything that he and Binance have done for the entire ecosystem since 2017.

Meanwhile, BNB recorded a price spike today, following the news, and it’s now trading above $587, with a market cap of over $83,7 billion. BNB is up by over 5% today.

UPDATE

CZ shared a post on X denying any discussions with the Trump family, but highlighting that he wouldn’t mind a pardon. He also said that the WSJ article was nuanced in such a way as to attack the Trump administration and these are only “residual forces of the war on crypto.”

CZ said that he’s happy to see that even WSJ wants him pardoned. 

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