Trump Family Held Talks to Acquire Stake in Binance: Report

Highlights:

• Trump’s family in talks to acquire stake in Binance amid ongoing legal issues.
• Binance founder seeks pardon from Trump but denies plans to return as CEO.
• Trump’s strong crypto support boosts global pro-crypto shift, says Teng.

President Donald Trump’s family representatives held talks to buy a stake in Binance’s U.S. arm, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on March 13, citing people familiar with the matter. Simultaneously, Binance’s billionaire founder, Changpeng Zhao, who spent four months in a US prison, has been seeking a pardon from the Trump administration.

WSJ revealed that Binance approached Trump’s family representatives last year and proposed a deal to help restart Binance.US operations in the country. The stake in Binance.US could be acquired directly or through World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a Trump-backed DeFi project. “It is unclear what form the Trump family stake would take if the deal comes together or whether it would be contingent on a pardon,” the report said. 

CZ had earlier expressed openness to receiving clemency from the Trump administration. In a now-deleted Dec. 2 post on X, he stated that he “wouldn’t mind a pardon” from Trump. However, he emphasized that he had no plans to return as Binance’s CEO. Zhao is Binance’s largest shareholder and currently lives in Abu Dhabi.

Binance’s Legal Troubles

Binance and Changpeng Zhao faced major legal troubles in the U.S. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged them with multiple securities violations in June 2023. In response to these challenges, Binance.US suspended U.S. dollar (USD) deposits and withdrawals in that month. In November, both admitted guilt to federal charges, including anti-money laundering violations.

Binance agreed to a $4.3 billion fine, and Zhao personally paid $50 million before stepping down as CEO. In April last year, he was sentenced to four months in prison for his role in the violations. After operating without fiat services for approximately 19 months, Binance.US restored USD deposits and withdrawals on February 19.

Trump’s Crypto Support

Since resuming office, Trump and his family have remained strong supporters of the crypto industry. Teng posted on X on March 13, sharing his new CNBC interview. He praised Trump as a key driver of a “global pro-crypto shift.” Teng also expressed confidence that the crypto industry strongly supports Trump, stating: “If you ask anybody in the crypto industry, people prefer the current administration compared to the last one.”

Beyond his ties to World Liberty Financial, President Trump has introduced multiple NFT collections. He has also launched an official memecoin on the Solana blockchain, drawing controversy. Additionally, on March 6, he signed an executive order to establish a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The reserve will utilize approximately 200,000 BTC ($17 billion) already held by the federal government. These assets were forfeited in criminal or civil cases.