On March 13, according to The Wall Street Journal, sources familiar with the matter revealed that representatives of US President Trump have held negotiations on taking a stake in the cryptocurrency trading platform Binance.US, with possibilities including the Trump family holding shares or trading through World Liberty Financial.
The article states that Trump is increasingly blurring the lines between his presidential position and business activities, and engaging in business transactions with Binance's largest shareholder CZ, who is seeking government pardons, will create unprecedented overlap between his businesses and the government. For the Trump family, holding shares in Binance.US will give them the opportunity to participate in the potential resurgence of the US cryptocurrency trading market, as the cryptocurrency industry is thriving with the US government lifting restrictive regulatory threats.
Binance.US's business has plummeted sharply after regulatory actions, and around the time of Trump's victory last year, Binance began exploring a return to the US market. Sources say the company has expressed a willingness to reach an agreement with Trump's companies and hopes to resolve its legal issues. After Trump's victory, Binance set up a team led by CEO Richard Teng, including senior legal and compliance personnel, to evaluate various options.
The Wall Street Journal article states that last month, after Justin Sun became the largest investor in World Liberty Financial, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requested the court to temporarily suspend the fraud lawsuit against Sun and his three companies. A source familiar with the matter revealed that Binance's top management has discussed internally whether to take the same approach: injecting funds into World Liberty Financial in exchange for CZ's pardon.
