The news: World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture backed by Donald Trump and his family, has discussed potential business deals with Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, according to Bloomberg.
Discussions have included a possible partnership to develop a stablecoin, a type of dollar-backed digital asset, two sources told the publication.
Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s family representatives have held talks about taking a financial stake in Binance.US.
At the same time, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to anti-money laundering failures and served four months in prison, has been pushing for a pardon from the Trump administration.
The context: A stake in Binance.US would be a striking expansion of the family’s cryptocurrency endeavors as Trump signs a series of executive orders that benefit the industry.
Zhao met Trump’s Middle East envoy and World Liberty co-founder Steve Witkoff in December, though the substance of their meeting is unclear, the sources told Bloomberg.
It comes as the Trump administration has halted crypto enforcement actions, including an SEC lawsuit against Binance.
What they said: On Thursday, Zhao posted on X, stating he had not spoken to anyone about a Binance.US deal. “No felon would mind a pardon,” he wrote, adding that he was “always happy to make crypto great everywhere, US and the rest of the world.”
Binance, the Trump Organization, and World Liberty Financial have not commented.