Trump Family Explored Stake in Binance.US Amid Zhao's Pardon Push

The Trump family reportedly engaged in discussions to acquire a financial stake in Binance.US, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday. These talks coincided with Binance founder Changpeng Zhao's efforts to secure a pardon from the Trump administration, despite his guilty plea in November 2023 related to anti-money laundering failures. The discussions began last year, aiming to revitalize Binance.US after regulatory challenges, including a lawsuit from the SEC. Last month, Binance.US resumed fiat deposits and withdrawals. Zhao, who received a four-month prison sentence and a $50 million fine, with Binance paying $4.3 billion in penalties, was released in September but remains the exchange's largest shareholder. Trump has increased his involvement in crypto, launching NFT collections and a memecoin. On March 6, Trump signed an executive order to create a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve from forfeited BTC.