There are concerns and questions about Donald Trump’s crypto ventures’ ties with Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange.
This comes as Trump’s son Eric announced plans to use World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin to settle the $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi-based tech firm MGX into Binance.
Lawmakers Want Explanation of the UAE, USD1 Ties
According to a Bloomberg report, Democratic Senators have requested that an investigation be launched to demystify what is going on between the two entities.
On May 9, Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi, voicing their concerns about the possible connection.
They have particularly pointed to potential compliance risks and conflicts of interest.
These lawmakers were concerned about Binance’s operations in the United States, especially its regulatory fallout.
Recall that the crypto service provider was indicted in 2023 for various reasons, including violating Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules.
This eventually led to the resignation and arrest of its founder, Changpeng Zhao.
CZ, as he is popularly called, was in prison for four months before he was finally released, never to hold the position of Binance CEO. In retrospect, the Democratic senators noted that,
“Our concerns about Binance’s compliance obligations are even more pressing given recent reports that the company is using the Trump family’s stablecoin to partner with foreign investment companies.”
Aside from the potential $2 billion USD1 stablecoin link, it is rumored that some representatives of Trump’s crypto venture met up to discuss the possibility of bagging a stake in Binance’s United States arm.
However, CZ later dismissed the claims, citing that they were non-factual. He spelled it out clearly that Binance U.S. does not currently have such a deal in the works with President Trump or any other party.
Binance Founder and the Move for Presidential Pardon
Also, the concerned Senators will not relent until Binance can prove beyond a reasonable doubt whether or not it discussed a potential pardon for CZ with any Treasury or Justice Department officials.
They also wish to know if the exchange ever discussed the Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial or its interest in listing a new stablecoin on its platform with agency officials.
The Senators said they want a response from the DOJ by May 21.
The initial claims about the Trump-Binance U.S. deal came alongside reports that the former Binance CEO would use the deal to secure a Presidential pardon.
Even though he debunked the claims about the Trump-Binance U.S. deal, this was all he said about the pardon claim.
“No felon would mind a pardon, especially being the only one in US history who was ever sentenced to prison for a single BSA charge.”
The talks about a potential pardon started with John Lilic of The Telos Foundation. Lilic proposed that President Donald Trump has to intervene to reinstate CZ as CEO.
This was just before Trump was sworn into office in January 2025.
In response to this suggestion, CZ stated that he had no desire to return to Binance’s leadership but expressed openness to a legal reprieve.
Competition Among Top CEXs, Binance in Spotlight
As it stands, Binance is currently in the spotlight, with community focus also hinged on its market dominance.
Despite this, the exchange has remained at the top in terms of trading volume, with more than $34 billion in daily trading volume.
According to CoinMarketCap’s list of top cryptocurrency spot exchanges, Bybit, OKX, and Coinbase follow the crypto exchange at a reasonable distance.
Beyond the spot market, it is also ranked as the biggest for derivatives trading.
