Richard Teng, chief govt officer of Binance, through the DC Blockchain Summit in Washington, DC, U.S., on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
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Binance CEO Richard Teng has dismissed claims that the cryptocurrency alternate helped enhance a Trump-backed stablecoin earlier than former CEO Changpeng Zhao acquired a presidential pardon.
The claims in query relate to a $2 billion investment Binance acquired from Abu Dhabi’s state-owned funding agency MGX. The deal was settled utilizing USD1, a stablecoin created by the Trump household’s crypto enterprise, World Liberty Monetary.
MGX’s funding and Binance’s subsequent listing of USD1 on its alternate helped bolster the stablecoin’s usage and credibility, with some lawmakers and experiences suggesting this may occasionally have influenced the pardon of Zhao, generally referred to as CZ.
Nevertheless, in a CNBC interview on Monday, Teng rejected the notion that Binance — the world’s largest cryptocurrency agency — had given USD1 any preferential therapy.
“Initially, the utilization of USD1 [for the] transaction between MGX as a strategic investor into Binance, that was determined by MGX … We did not partake in that call,” Teng mentioned.
He famous that USD1 had already been listed on different exchanges earlier than Binance, including that, because the “largest crypto ecosystem on this planet,” the corporate commonly engages with promising new tasks.
“Generally it really works out. Generally it would not. Within the case of USD1, I am glad that each events labored it out.”
Accusations of corruption
Teng’s denials come after the Wall Avenue Journal reported final week that Binance not solely facilitated the settlement of MGX’s funding utilizing USD1, but additionally assisted in constructing the expertise behind the stablecoin, citing nameless sources conversant in the matter.
The Journal additionally beforehand famous that World Liberty Monetary benefited vastly from the itemizing of its USD1 token on Binance and a partnership with PancakeSwap — a web-based market for cryptocurrencies mentioned to be related to Binance.
In the meantime, scrutiny of CZ’s pardon and Binance’s ties to the Trump-linked World Liberty Monetary has continued to mount from opposition leaders on Capitol Hill.
Among the many most distinguished voices has been Sen. Elizabeth Warren, rating member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and City Affairs Committee, who has accused Binance and the Trump administration of corruption.
In a statement final month, the vocal critic of the crypto trade mentioned: “First, Changpeng Zhao pleaded responsible to a prison cash laundering cost. Then he boosted one among Donald Trump’s crypto ventures and lobbied for a pardon,” with the President later doing “his half.”
Binance didn’t reply instantly to a request for remark. CZ stepped down as Binance chief govt in 2023, however stays the key shareholder of the corporate, in accordance with Teng.
Critics have lengthy questioned World Liberty Monetary’s open connections to the Trump administration because it seeks new partnerships and traders abroad.
In accordance with World Liberty Financial’s website, a Trump-affiliated agency referred to as DT Marks DEFI LLC, together with members of the Trump household, receives a significant share of the platform’s income and holds digital tokens backing the corporate, referred to as WLFI. The agency has reportedly netted the Trump household a whole lot of tens of millions to billions in earnings.
Nevertheless, it additionally states that Trump, his household or any members of the Trump Group or DT Marks DEFI LLC should not an “officer, director, founder, or worker of, or supervisor, proprietor or operator of World Liberty Monetary or its associates.”
MGX’s buy of $2 billion in USD1 tokens has additionally raised eyebrows after a New York Occasions report in September famous that it occurred two weeks earlier than the White Home signed a significant settlement with the U.A.E. on entry to a whole lot of 1000’s of American microchips.
In a dialog with CNBC final month, Donald Trump Jr., the U.S. president’s eldest son and a co-founder of World Liberty Monetary, dismissed the reports and broader issues about potential conflicts of curiosity.
He was joined by the agency’s CEO, Zach Witkoff, son of U.S. Particular Envoy to the Center East Steve Witkoff, who mentioned their fathers weren’t centered on nor straight concerned within the enterprise.
Trump’s crypto embrace
Zhao was compelled to step down from his position at Binance in 2023 after pleading guilty to enabling money laundering by means of the cryptocurrency alternate.
White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned in an announcement on Oct. 23 that Zhao had been prosecuted beneath the Biden administration “regardless of no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims.”
Trump later mentioned he pardoned Zhao “at the request of plenty of excellent individuals” and that he knew nothing about him.
Since returning to workplace, Trump has embraced the crypto sector, proposing new digital asset laws whereas rolling again enforcement actions that focused crypto exchanges similar to Coinbase and Ripple through the prior administration.
Talking Monday, Teng mentioned that Binance and the crypto trade “have been very grateful” to the president for CZ’s pardon and for signaling that the U.S. would be the “world crypto capital of the world.”
