During a panel on March 18 at the 2025 Digital Asset Summit in New York, Binance CEO Richard Teng refuted claims that Binance.US was engaged in negotiations with entities connected to former President Donald Trump.
Teng’s remarks echoed the sentiments expressed by Binance’s founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who, along with Trump, had also dismissed the allegations a week prior.
On March 13, it was reported that Binance.US, which operates independently as a US cryptocurrency exchange, was in talks to sell equity to businesses affiliated with Trump, including a potential partnership with World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance project associated with the Trump family.
“I believe both World Liberty Financial and CZ himself have tweeted denials regarding the claims, so there really isn’t much more to add,” Teng stated at the summit, which Cointelegraph attended.
Richard Teng speaking at the Digital Asset Summit in New York.
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Teng emphasized that Binance.US is both legally and operationally separate from its larger parent company.
“The US operation and the broader platform are fundamentally different. They have distinct shareholders, boards of directors, and CEOs in charge,” he remarked.
Nonetheless, Teng acknowledged Trump’s influence, stating that Binance has benefited from the former president’s “pro-crypto” policies, even while not directly participating in the US market.
“Last year marked a significant shift as institutional players finally began engaging with the market,” Teng noted.
“With Trump advocating for a strategic crypto reserve or asset stockpile, it will compel governments globally to take this sector more seriously.”
Unlike his predecessor, Joe Biden, Trump has expressed his aim to transform America into the “world’s crypto capital” and has placed pro-crypto individuals in essential regulatory positions.
Source: CZ
Possible Conflicts of Interest
“It remains uncertain what the Trump family’s investment would entail if the deal progresses or whether it is reliant on a potential pardon,” the report stated.
As the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, Binance has seen Binance.US fall behind Coinbase in the US landscape.
CZ dismissed the allegations in a post on X made that same day. Trump also refuted the claims on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“The Globalist Wall Street Journal is completely out of touch. They are influenced by the flawed ideologies of the European Union, which was primarily established to undermine the United States,” the former president wrote.
Trump’s recent memecoin launch and his connections to crypto venture World Liberty Financial have generated discussions about potential conflicts of interest and insider trading, according to experts.
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