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TRUMP FAMILY ALLEGEDLY IN TALKS TO ACQUIRE BINANCE US STAKE AS CZ ‘SEEKS’ PARDON – REPORT
A recent report alleges that the Trump Family has been in talks to take a stake in crypto exchange Binance’s US arm, which could facilitate the company’s return to the country. Simultaneously, the exchange’s co-founder, Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ,” has allegedly been “pushing” for a pardon from the Trump administration.
Trump Family In ‘Deal Talks’ For Binance US Stake?
On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that representatives of US President Donald Trump’s family have held talks to acquire a financial stake in Binance US since 2024. According to people familiar with the matter, the talks allegedly began as part of the global exchange’s plan to return to the US.
Binance reportedly contacted Trump’s camp, offering a business deal with the Presidential Family. The company “began exploring a return to the U.S. market last year around the time of Trump’s election win” and “told people it was willing to make a deal with Trump’s company and wanted to eliminate its legal problems,” the report states.
However, it was unclear how the Trump family stake would come together if they struck a deal. The WSJ sources said the options included the deal going through the Trump family crypto venture, World Liberty Financial (WLF).
Moreover, Steve Witkoff, the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East, was seemingly involved in the deal talks. Witkoff is a co-founder of WLF, but a Trump administration official denied any involvement, adding that he is “in the process of divesting from his business interests.”
The report claims that “After Trump won, Binance set up a working group under CEO Richard Teng, which included senior legal and compliance staff, to assess options. Executives knew that Zhao’s conviction complicated any return, as it would be difficult to sign up new commercial partners in the U.S. with a felon as a majority shareholder.”
As a result, the company executive “saw a potential legal playbook in the saga of Justin Sun,” who recently had the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pause its lawsuit against him. This route consisted of “a cash infusion into World Liberty Financial in exchange for a pardon for Zhao,” the sources told the news media outlet.
CZ Denies Claims Of “Pushing” For A Pardon
The report also stated that Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s co-founder and largest stakeholder, has been “pushing for the Trump administration to grant him a pardon” amid the deal talks, which allegedly continued after the US President’s inauguration.
The news caused outrage among several crypto investors, who considered the potential financial deal for a pardon “the cherry on top” of the recent TRUMP and MELANIA memecoin controversies.
CZ responded to the report, denying the allegations. In an X post, he stated, “The WSJ article got the facts wrong.” He explained that over 20 people informed him they had been asked to confirm the “deal for a pardon” by the WSJ and other media outlets.
According to the Binance founder, he has not discussed a Binance US deal with anyone but noted, “No felon would mind a pardon, especially being the only one in US history who was ever sentenced to prison for a single BSA charge.”
To him, “they tried hard to make a story to report,” while the article feels like “an attack on the President and crypto, and the residual forces of the ‘war on crypto’ from the last administration are still at work.”
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported on Thursday that WLF “has discussed doing business with the world’s largest digital-asset exchange, Binance Holdings Ltd., according to four people with knowledge of the talks.”
The article stated that it is unclear what stage these discussions reached but included the possibility of the crypto exchange developing a US-backed stablecoin with the Trump Family’s crypto venture.
@ Newshounds News™
Source: Bitcoinist
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BRAZIL TO PUSH CRYPTOCURRENCY AS A PRIORITY FOR INTERNATIONAL BRICS TRADE
Brazil will push crypto initiatives, including a blockchain payment system, to expedite international trading as part of its presidency at BRICS this year. Local media stated this would be a priority for the South American giant’s plans for the organization.
Brazil to Push Hard for Crypto Implementation in BRICS Trade
The agenda of Brazil as president of the BRICS bloc will feature an unlikely topic: crypto. Brazilian authorities are preparing to introduce proposals for the organization to consider cryptocurrency as a solution for international settlements both inside and outside the bloc.
Local journal “O Globo” noted that this topic would be a priority as Brazil is now the President of BRICS, taking the mantle from Russia. The proposal would support the need to expedite financial transactions among group members, and reduce the dependence on foreign currencies like the U.S. dollar.
While the idea of a BRICS common currency was floated before, with economists like Jim Rickards predicting it would leverage gold to undermine the dollar, this has not been suggested. Instead, BRICS is focusing on designing an efficient payment system to make use of digital national currencies or even stablecoins, which are already being used in international settlements, though informally.
President Donald Trump opposed the BRICS currency idea, proposing a 100% tariff regime if the organization abandoned the U.S. dollar for a new currency, defending the dollar’s role as the world’s trading coin.
Brazil could also present a system like Pix, that uses different networks and systems based on fiat currencies. Nonetheless, this might raise worries about the sovereignty and independence of the system, as fiat currencies might be subject to different regulatory standards.
Russian officials have confirmed that BRICS is indeed taking this as a priority, hosting talks to determine the best course of action in this regard. Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that President Luis Inacio Lula Da Silva had taken the initiative in this field, examining the creation of a so-called transborder payment initiative, the creation of a reinsurance company, and the BRICS Clear settlement and depositary infrastructure.
@ Newshounds News™
Source: BitcoinNews
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