Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chair Caroline Pham discusses the Crypto Sprint initiative, how regulation will strengthen U.S. leadership in digital assets, and how President Donald Trump’s trade policies will impact the market.
The dominant narrative surrounding President Trump’s pardon of Binance founder Chao Changpeng (CZ) can be summed up in one word: corruption. It can be seen on Talking Points.
- Rep. Maxine Waters: “Pardons…are a blatant example of paid corruption.”
- Tommy Vieter: “Trump’s Crypto Company Partnered with Binance to Make Billions of Dollars in Trades, So Trump Pardoned Its Founder.”
- Sen. Ruben Gallego: “This is total corruption”
From these lines, one would think that Binance and CZ have active business relationships with the Trump family. it’s not. That claim is baseless. Since there is no contract, there are no receipts.
What really happened and why people are confused
Earlier this year, Binance announced a $2 billion investment from MGX. This is a landmark transaction and the first institutional investment for the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. I discussed this with CEO Richard Teng at the DC Blockchain Summit in March.
Where the plot twists: MGX’s investment was funded with the USD1 stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, Inc. According to public reports, the Trump family owns a minority stake in World Liberty Financial through DT Marks DeFi LLC. USD1 is multi-chain and is deployed on the BNB chain and Ethereum.
what that doesn’t mean
Paying $1 doesn’t generate business Binance/CZ partnership And the Trump family.
Tokens running on the BNB Chain do not imply any commercial relationship with Binance. BNB Chain is an open blockchain that anyone can build.
The only “receipt” here: DT Marks DeFi LLC → Minority stake in WLF → WLF issues USD1 → USD1 exists on BNB chain/Ethereum → MGX uses USD1 in Binance trades.
The series of facts are Trump and Binance/CZ partnership, And that doesn’t prove the pardon was quid pro quo. This points to the use of a public chain stablecoin as a vehicle rather than a private company arrangement. By that logic, if you buy bourbon with U.S. dollars, you become a business partner of the U.S. government, or the state of Kentucky. If anyone has hard evidence of direct business dealings between Trump and CZ/Binance, please present it. Until then, this story is speculation masquerading as certainty.
Trump pardons former Binance CEO
Binance CEO Changpeng Chao speaks at Delta Summit, Malta’s official blockchain and digital innovation event promoting cryptocurrencies, held in St Julian’s, Malta on October 4, 2018. Reuters/Darin Zammit Lupi (Reuters/Darin Zammit Lupi/Reuters Photo)
What the lawsuit against CZ actually was and what it wasn’t
Records show:
CZ pleaded guilty to a single non-fraud Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) charge of failing to implement an effective AML (anti-money laundering) program.
Court records do not prove that CZ knowingly facilitated illegal transactions.
Compared to the treatment of major banks for much more serious AML failures (multi-billion dollar fines, no equivalent prison sentences for senior executives), this outcome was unusual for a first-time, isolated BSA program failure.
The Binance exchange website on a laptop computer in Dobbs Ferry, New York, USA, Saturday, February 20, 2021. Bitcoin has been battered by negative comments this week, with longtime skeptic and now Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen saying: (Getty/Getty Images)
You may not like cryptocurrencies, CZ, or amnesty. But let’s base our argument on the records we actually have, not the records someone wishes existed.
Why the “Depraved” frame is useful
The “amnesty atonement” accusation serves two political functions at the same time: attacking rivals and maintaining anti-crypto advocacy. Useful if your goal is Stalls US crypto policy– Just as Congress is finally close to passing a market structure bill. America should want a legal, transparent, and competitive cryptocurrency market to exist here, not overseas. It requires rules, not innuendo.
Let’s start a real discussion
advance policy. If the United States wants to become a global crypto capital and protect American retail investors, we need clear and compliant channels for large crypto companies, including Binance, to operate here with strict oversight.
This amnesty corrects an imbalance. CZ is a builder who helped create the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and has long been treated as a political agent in broader disputes over digital assets.
What we need is a law, not a law. And we should stop acting as if using open blockchains creates secret partnerships. When you pay your bill in dollars, you become a customer of the U.S. Treasury.
BlackRock’s bragging rights to the fastest growing ETFS
The path to leadership: Law, not viral stories. responsibility. It is not a crime by association. rule. Clarity. Competitiveness. And the door is open to the world’s best builders.
Perian Boling is an American cryptocurrency advocate, investor, and founder. She is the founder and chair of the Digital Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s oldest and largest blockchain industry association. Partner at Off the Chain Capital. He is also the executive producer of the documentary “God Bless Bitcoin.”
