Binance has held discussions about selling a stake in its U.S. arm to members of the Trump family, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

It’s believed the company has also considered seeking a pardon for its co-founder Changpeng Zhao. In 2023, the executive pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering rules. Zhao wrote on X today that “the WSJ article got the facts wrong” but didn’t go into much detail.

Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. It launched in 2017 and formed a U.S. arm, Binance US, about two years later. According to the Journal, the main purpose of the U.S. arm was to distract financial regulators from the illicit activities of its parent company.

In 2023, Binance and Zhao pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering rules. The company paid a $4.3 billion fine while Zhao stepped down as chief executive and received a four-month prison sentence. Binance’s U.S. arm saw its market share decline significantly following the ruling.

According to the Journal, the Trumps could take a stake in Binance US either directly or through World Liberty Financial Inc., a cryptocurrency venture they launched last year. The Trump family receives three-quarters of the venture’s net revenue. Bloomberg reported today that discussions about the potential deal also explored the possibility of Binance and World Liberty collaborating on a stablecoin.

Besides selling a stake in Binance US to the Trumps, Binance executives reportedly also discussed seeking a pardon for Zhao. The Journal reported that such a pardon could be highly conducive to the cryptocurrency exchange’s growth ambitions.

Although Zhao is no longer Binance’s CEO, he remains its controlling stakeholder. It’s believed a pardon would make it easier for the company to find commercial partners in the U.S. who could help it gain market share. A pardon could also benefit Binance internationally: In the European Union, companies with shareholders convicted of money laundering violations can’t obtain a crypto license.

It’s believed Binance first reached out to allies of Trump last year. Executives reportedly “saw a potential legal playbook in the saga of Justin Sun.”

Sun is the founder of TRON, a blockchain that allows developers to create decentralized applications. Not long after the Trump family launched World Liberty, he became one of the venture’s largest investors. Last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked a court to pause an ongoing civil fraud lawsuit against Sun and his cryptocurrency companies.

According to the Journal, Binance’s efforts to sell a stake in its U.S. arm to the Trump family and secure a pardon for Zhao “have continued since Trump’s inauguration.” Bloomberg reported that the cryptocurrency exchange is still facing legal scrutiny in multiple countries. 

Image: Flickr