Cryptocurrency exchange Binance reportedly helped create the code behind the stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial (WLF), one of the crypto businesses tied to US President Donald Trump.
According to a Friday Bloomberg report citing three people familiar with the matter, Binance helped create, promote, and played a role in the largest transaction of WLF’s USD1 stablecoin. The crypto business, backed by Trump and his three sons, launched USD1 on March 4.
An Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, MGX, announced a $2-billion investment in Binance on March 12 using a then-unnamed stablecoin. Eric Trump, one of WLF’s co-founders, said in May that the company would be using USD1 to settle the investment.
According to Bloomberg, 90% of all the USD1 coins used in the transaction remained in Binance’s wallets as of Friday, potentially generating tens of millions of dollars in interest for Trump and his family.
The reported relationship between one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges and a business closely tied to the US president raises questions about potential conflicts of interest and the use of political influence for business gain.
Cointelegraph reached out to a Binance spokesperson and World Liberty Financial but had not received responses at the time of publication.
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Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, pleaded guilty to one felony count as part of a settlement with US authorities in 2023. Although he had already served four months in prison, he said in May that he was seeking a presidential pardon from Trump.
Such a pardon could potentially allow Zhao to return to a managerial or operational role at a US crypto business. At the time of publication, he had not publicly commented on the report.
Congress, Trump looking to sign off on stablecoin bill
Trump’s crypto ventures have been under scrutiny from many US lawmakers since before he took office — the president made several campaign promises suggesting that he would tailor policies for the crypto industry.
Among his financial entanglements were World Liberty Financial and its stablecoin, the launch of his memecoin Official Trump (TRUMP) and contributions from crypto executives who supported his campaign.
The Bloomberg report came as Republican leaders in the House of Representatives are expected to consider three crypto bills, among them legislation to regulate payment stablecoins in the US.
The GENIUS Act — whose name also refers to one of Trump’s many social media posts — has already passed the Senate and is expected to receive a floor vote in the House soon.
Though Democrats in the Senate initially stopped a crucial vote for the stablecoin bill, citing Trump’s crypto interests, it ultimately passed with bipartisan support. It’s unclear whether the bill will have enough support to pass in the House, where Republicans also hold a slim majority. Trump has suggested that he would immediately sign an unamended bill if it is passed.
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Cointelegraph by Turner Wright