CZ Denies Reports on Trump Family’s Alleged Binance.US Deal

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has dismissed reports from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Bloomberg. The articles claimed that Donald Trump’s family is in talks to acquire a stake in Binance US.

4. Sorry to disappoint. The WSJ article got the facts wrong.

More than 20 people have told me they were asked by the WSJ (and another media), “Can you confirm that CZ made some deal for a pardon?”

They probably asked hundreds of people to have 20 people reach out to me. In… https://t.co/ELyDPmKD3G

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) March 13, 2025

Zhao called the reports inaccurate and accused the media of fabricating a narrative.

CZ Denies WSJ Report

In response to the WSJ article, CZ said the publication got the facts wrong. He emphasized that he had never discussed any Binance US deal with anyone. He also revealed that more than 20 people had reached out to him, saying WSJ and another media outlet had repeatedly asked whether he had struck a deal for a pardon.

“They probably asked hundreds of people to have 20 people reach out to me. In essence, they tried hard to make a story to report,” he stated.

Zhao described the WSJ report as politically motivated, claiming it was an attack on both Trump and the crypto industry. He also pointed out the unusual nature of his legal case. He highlighted that he is the only person in U.S. history to be sentenced to prison for a single Bank Secrecy Act violation.

A “Baseless Hit Piece”

Shortly after the WSJ report, Bloomberg published a similar story, which CZ described as a “baseless hit piece.” The former Binance CEO argued that Bloomberg’s statements made it clear the article was built on speculation rather than facts.

Notably, Bloomberg admitted it was unclear what stage the supposed discussions had reached or whether they would result in any transaction. The article also stated that the substance of his alleged meeting was unknown. Zhao pointed out that this statement exposed the lack of evidence behind the claims.

He further clarified that neither Binance nor he had any business dealings with World Liberty Financial (WLF) or the individuals mentioned in the article. He also denied purchasing any WLF tokens.

This was not the first time Zhao had criticized Bloomberg’s reporting. He recalled that in July 2022, he sued the publication over a defamatory article. Bloomberg later retracted the report and issued an apology in July 2024.

However, he criticized the way the apology was handled, as it was quietly published on Bloomberg’s Hong Kong corporate website rather than on its main platform, where the original report had appeared.