Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is plotting a return to the U.S. based on newfound ties with the Trump family.
According to the Wall Street Journal, executives from Binance met with U.S. Treasury officials last month to request the removal or reduction of a federal monitorship that has overseen the exchange’s compliance with anti-money-laundering laws since it pled guilty in 2023 and paid a record $4.3 billion fine.
Canada also fined Binance, but the penalty was much lower at $4.3 million.
At the same time, Binance has been exploring a business deal with World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a DeFi venture that claims to be “inspired” by President Donald Trump and has plans to launch a dollar-pegged stablecoin called USD1. Listing the token on Binance could generate billions for the Trumps, who are currently losing millions on the WLFI venture.
Trump and his family control more than 60% of the WLFI project.
The WSJ reports that Binance’s budding alliance with the Trump family stems from a private gathering in Abu Dhabi last December. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao met with Eric Trump and Steve Witkoff, who helped co-found World Liberty.
Fast-forward to now: The quid pro quo for the Trump administration offers a chance to roll back strict oversight; for the Trumps, Binance’s massive global reach — 250 million users and $65 billion in daily volume— could bolster the family’s crypto ambitions.
Crypto.news reached out to WLFI, but a spokesperson did not respond immediately with a comment.
The Trump administration has already made favorable moves toward the exchange, including disbanding a Department of Justice crypto enforcement unit.
Internally, Binance also seeks a presidential pardon for Zhao, who served four months in prison for violating U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions regulations.
A Binance spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Trump representatives have reportedly discussed buying a stake in Binance.US, the exchange’s struggling American arm, and using Zhao’s connections to deepen the partnership.
The situation spotlights the unusual overlap between past enforcement targets and a White House now open to alliances with crypto bigwigs. With Trump — himself a convicted felon — already pardoning figures like BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, the new crypto era in Washington, D.C., seems poised to reward the very “bad actors” the sector’s leaders complain about.
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