US President Donald Trump has claimed he still doesn't know who Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is, despite having pardoned him last month. In an interview with CBS correspondent Norah O'Donnell on 60 Minutes, Trump acknowledged that Zhao was charged with violating anti-money laundering laws and pleaded guilty to the offense.
However, Trump expressed no understanding of the severity of Zhao's actions or the implications of his pardon, which has sparked criticism from many quarters. The pardon has been seen as a potential benefit for the Trump family business, particularly given months of discussions between the family and Binance about a financial stake in the crypto exchange's US arm.
Trump downplayed any concerns, stating that he knew "nothing" about Zhao and was only aware of the general perception that the former CEO had been unfairly targeted by the Biden administration. He also suggested that many people believe Zhao was not guilty of the charges against him, despite the fact that he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.
The pardon has been criticized as a pay-to-play move, with some arguing that Trump and his family were seeking to benefit from Binance's influence in the US crypto market. The company, which facilitated a $2 billion purchase of a stablecoin backed by the Trump-backed World Liberty Financial, has said it will do everything it can to help make America "the Capital of Crypto" under Zhao's leadership.
Zhao, who maintains a controlling stake in Binance and has an estimated net worth of $52.6 billion, has expressed enthusiasm for his role in promoting crypto adoption in the US.
However, Trump expressed no understanding of the severity of Zhao's actions or the implications of his pardon, which has sparked criticism from many quarters. The pardon has been seen as a potential benefit for the Trump family business, particularly given months of discussions between the family and Binance about a financial stake in the crypto exchange's US arm.
Trump downplayed any concerns, stating that he knew "nothing" about Zhao and was only aware of the general perception that the former CEO had been unfairly targeted by the Biden administration. He also suggested that many people believe Zhao was not guilty of the charges against him, despite the fact that he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.
The pardon has been criticized as a pay-to-play move, with some arguing that Trump and his family were seeking to benefit from Binance's influence in the US crypto market. The company, which facilitated a $2 billion purchase of a stablecoin backed by the Trump-backed World Liberty Financial, has said it will do everything it can to help make America "the Capital of Crypto" under Zhao's leadership.
Zhao, who maintains a controlling stake in Binance and has an estimated net worth of $52.6 billion, has expressed enthusiasm for his role in promoting crypto adoption in the US.
he pardons this guy changepeng zhao after he pleads guilty to a crime and then has the nerve to say he still doesn't know who zhao is? like come on trump you're not fooling anyone with that act. it's just another example of how corrupt the system is in your administration. 
i mean i get it the guy pleaded guilty but pardoning him without any understanding of what went down is just bad form. and let's be real the trump family is making bank off this because they're getting a piece of the binance action. that's not right at all 
shouldn't there be more scrutiny on someone who's pardoning a guy for such a serious offense? this whole thing just smells like pay-to-play to me and i'm not buying it 
he just pardoned changpeng zhao but like claims he doesn't even know who he is lol. and now he's saying some people think Zhao wasn't even guilty of the charges 
which is super concerning. it feels like a total pay-to-play situation, you know? Binance gets to be all cozy with trump's family business and now they're making america the crypto capital under zhao's leadership 
i mean, what's next? paying off politicians to make crypto regulation more lenient? 
this whole thing just smells like a big ol' mess
. Like, how can you claim to not know who Binance's CEO is after pardoning him? It's not like he got the memo from the FBI or something. And for real, his response to criticism about the pardon being a "pay-to-play" move is laughable 
. He's all "I knew nothing" and "people think he was unfairly targeted"... no, dude, you pardoned him after months of talks with your family about benefiting from Binance's US arm 
. But Trump is all "many people believe he wasn't guilty"... yeah right 
I mean I don't know much about crypto or finance stuff, but it seems like a lot of shady business going on here... btw, have you guys ever used Binance before? 
. Zhao may have pleaded guilty, but that doesn't mean he deserves a free pass #NotBuyingIt.
- they're making a real push for crypto adoption in the US and it's cool to see them taking an active role #CryptoForAmerica. But can we please have more transparency around these dealings? 
. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how Zhao's new role plays out... probably with some shady dealings 
.
. And now Binance is jumping in with their own agenda 
, while Zhao is still walking around with his $52.6 billion 
. Trump says he's all about making America "the Capital of Crypto" 
, but it seems to me that this is more like a big money move 
.