President Donald Trump claimed he doesn't know Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of crypto exchange Binance - just days after pardoning the convicted money launderer in a decision that has triggered bipartisan criticism and calls for federal investigations into potential conflicts of interest.
"OK? Are you ready? I don't know who he is," Trump told CBS News' "60 Minutes" in an interview that aired November 3, 2025, when pressed about his decision to grant clemency to Zhao, known widely as "CZ" in the crypto industry. "I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that. And I heard it was a Biden witch hunt."
The president's claim of ignorance has drawn sharp scrutiny given the extensive financial ties between Binance and World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's cryptocurrency venture that has generated billions in value since the 2024 election. The controversy centers on a $2 billion deal involving Binance, the Trump family's stablecoin, and an Abu Dhabi-backed investment firm - announced just months before the pardon.
The Pardon That Erased a Money Laundering Conviction
On October 23, 2025, Trump issued a presidential pardon to Zhao, effectively erasing his 2023 federal conviction for violating anti-money laundering laws. The pardon came after Binance paid $450,000 to lobbyist Charles McDowell's firm, Checkmate Government Relations, for work that included lobbying the White House for "executive relief."
Zhao had pleaded guilty in November 2023 and agreed to step down as Binance CEO as part of a historic $4.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice. He served four months in prison - significantly less than the three years prosecutors had requested—and paid a $50 million personal fine.
The original charges stemmed from Binance's systematic failure to implement proper anti-money laundering controls. Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland blasted the company at the time, stating: "Binance became the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange in part because of the crimes it committed - now it is paying one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history."
Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was even more direct, saying Binance "turned a blind eye to its legal obligations in the pursuit of profit. Its willful failures allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers through its platform."
During the "60 Minutes" interview, when host Norah O'Donnell noted that federal prosecutors said CZ had caused "significant harm to U.S. national security" by allowing terrorist groups like Hamas to move millions of dollars through the platform, Trump dismissed these concerns as politically motivated persecution.
The $2 Billion Deal That Raised Eyebrows
The timing of the pardon has intensified scrutiny of the financial relationships between Binance and the Trump family's cryptocurrency empire. In May 2025, World Liberty Financial announced that MGX, an Abu Dhabi-backed investment firm, would use the family's USD1 stablecoin to facilitate a $2 billion investment in Binance.
The deal marked not only the largest investment ever made in a cryptocurrency company but also the largest transaction ever conducted using stablecoins. For World Liberty Financial, the arrangement represented a massive windfall, effectively providing the Trump-linked platform with what amounted to a $2 billion deposit.
Financial experts have estimated that the Trump family could earn tens of millions of dollars annually from the interest and fees generated by holding such a large stablecoin balance, though the exact profit structure remains opaque due to limited transparency from the parties involved.
World Liberty Financial issued a statement claiming it "had no role in the clemency process" and denying any connection between the business deal and Zhao's pardon. However, the denial has done little to quell concerns among ethics experts and Democratic lawmakers.
When asked about potential pay-for-play connections during his "60 Minutes" appearance, Trump deflected, stating only that his sons "are in the crypto industry" but "they're not government officials."
Binance's Strategic Alliance With Trump's Empire
The relationship between Binance and the Trump family extends beyond the MGX deal. World Liberty Financial's platform is hosted on Binance's infrastructure, and Binance provided technical support for the launch of the USD1 stablecoin, co-writing its code and facilitating its deployment.
Binance celebrated the pardon enthusiastically, with a company statement declaring: "Incredible news of CZ's pardon today. We thank President Trump for his leadership and for his commitment to make the US the crypto capital of the world."
Zhao himself posted on social media expressing gratitude: "Deeply grateful for today's pardon and to President Trump for upholding America's commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice. Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance web3 worldwide."
The pardon potentially clears the path for Zhao to resume a leadership role at Binance, though some regulatory restrictions may still apply. More significantly, it signals the Trump administration's willingness to intervene on behalf of crypto industry figures with direct financial ties to the first family.
Senate Democrats Launch Political Counteroffensive
The pardon immediately triggered a fierce political backlash. Senator Elizabeth Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, issued a scathing statement within hours of the announcement: "First, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge. Then he boosted one of Donald Trump's crypto ventures and lobbied for a pardon. Today, Donald Trump did his part and pardoned him. If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption in pending market structure legislation, it owns this lawlessness."
Warren, along with Senator Adam Schiff and other Democratic colleagues, quickly moved to introduce Senate Resolution 466, which condemns the pardon as "a threat to financial integrity and public trust." The resolution, co-sponsored by 14 senators, called for Congress to use its authority to prevent similar instances of alleged corruption.
In remarks on the Senate floor, Warren framed the issue in stark terms: "American families are struggling to pay for groceries and rent. But what is President Donald Trump focused on? He's just pardoned a convicted crypto billionaire who helped the Trump family get even richer."
The resolution highlighted that World Liberty Financial's native token, WLFI, surged more than 15% in value immediately following the pardon announcement, further fueling allegations that the Trump family directly profited from the clemency decision.
However, the resolution faces dim prospects in the Republican-controlled Senate. As a symbolic measure requiring unanimous consent, a single GOP objection would block it from receiving a full vote.
Legal Battle Erupts Over "Money Laundering" Characterization
The political controversy has spawned a legal dispute after CZ's attorneys threatened to sue Senator Warren for defamation over her characterization of his conviction as a "criminal money laundering charge."
Zhao's legal team argued that he pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering program - not to money laundering itself. They sent a letter to Warren demanding she retract her statements or face litigation.
Warren's legal counsel fired back on November 2, 2025, with a forceful defense citing the Department of Justice's own language. Her attorneys pointed to the DOJ's November 21, 2023 press release that described the case as part of a "$4 billion resolution" for "anti-money laundering" violations.
The response invoked constitutional protections for legislative speech and cited legal precedents establishing that public figures like Zhao must prove "actual malice" - that Warren knowingly published false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Legal experts noted that Warren's characterization aligned with how major media outlets and the DOJ itself described the case.
"It was always the dumbest of technical arguments to suggest that failure to maintain a money laundering program wasn't a money laundering charge," attorney Max Schatzow commented on the dispute.
Broader Pattern of Crypto-Friendly Clemency
Zhao's pardon fits within a broader pattern of the Trump administration's aggressive support for the cryptocurrency industry. Shortly after returning to office, Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace who had been serving a life sentence for facilitating illegal drug trafficking.
The administration has also shown leniency toward other crypto figures with ties to the Trump family's business ventures. Justin Sun, a Chinese crypto billionaire who invested tens of millions in World Liberty Financial, saw civil fraud charges against him dropped after Trump took office.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the pardon wave, arguing that these cases represented overreach by the Biden administration's "war on cryptocurrency." She maintained that the White House conducts "a very thorough examination" of every pardon request, though she provided no specific details about the review process for Zhao's case.
Congressional Investigations Loom
Multiple congressional committees are now preparing subpoenas related to both the pardon and the $2 billion Binance-Trump family deal. Lawmakers are seeking documents and communications that could shed light on:
- Whether anyone affiliated with Trump or World Liberty Financial communicated with MGX or Binance about using the USD1 stablecoin
- What inducements or incentives may have been offered in exchange for choosing the Trump-linked stablecoin over competitors
- How the companies evaluated legal and reputational risks associated with using a financial product tied to the sitting president
- The extent to which lobbying efforts by Binance influenced the pardon decision
Senators Warren and Jeff Merkley have separately demanded records from both Binance and MGX regarding the deal. In their letters, they noted that World Liberty Financial itself confirmed that MGX and Binance likely would have settled the transaction using foreign fiat currency if USD1 had not been available - meaning the Trump family was essentially "cut into" a deal that otherwise wouldn't have benefited them.
A House Committee report has allegedly identified possible irregularities in USD1's reserves, foreign funding channels, and insider transactions involving Trump-affiliated entities, though the full details remain under wraps pending further investigation.
Industry Reaction and Broader Implications
The controversy has exposed deep divisions within both the political world and the cryptocurrency industry itself. While many crypto advocates have celebrated the pardon as a victory against regulatory overreach, others have expressed concern about the optics of pardoning a convicted executive with such obvious financial ties to the president's family.
Ray Youssef, CEO of crypto platform NoOnes, offered a provocative take on Binance's current status: "Binance is not CCP, folks. CZ has aligned himself with Uncle Sam - and the Trump family. That's who runs Binance now." He argued that U.S. regulators effectively control the exchange through court-appointed monitors installed as part of the 2023 settlement, adding: "That's why you're having KYC every two weeks. Uncle Sam runs Binance."
The debate over the pardon intersects with ongoing negotiations over major crypto legislation in Congress. The Senate is considering market structure bills that could significantly expand the stablecoin industry - potentially multiplying the value of the Trump family's USD1 holdings. Democrats have argued that without stronger conflict-of-interest provisions, such legislation would essentially codify the ability of presidents and their families to profit from regulatory decisions.
Final thoughts
Ethics experts have noted that even if no explicit quid pro quo occurred, the sequence of events creates a troubling appearance of impropriety. A foreign government-backed entity made a massive investment using a Trump family financial product. The company receiving that investment then spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying for a pardon for its founder. And the president, who directly benefits financially from his family's crypto ventures, then granted that pardon while publicly claiming ignorance of the beneficiary.
Whether this rises to the level of actionable corruption remains a matter of intense debate. What's undeniable is that the Trump family's deep entanglement with the cryptocurrency industry - an industry the president's administration is simultaneously regulating - has created unprecedented conflicts of interest.
As investigations proceed and the 2026 midterm elections approach, the CZ pardon controversy could become a defining issue in the broader debate over crypto regulation, presidential ethics, and the intersection of policy and personal profit in the Trump era.
The question now is whether Congress will take meaningful action to address these conflicts, or whether the Trump administration's embrace of the crypto industry—and the industry's enthusiastic support of Trump - will continue unchecked.