U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that he does not know who Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is. His statement comes just days after CZ was granted the Presidential pardon after he had pleaded guilty for breaching the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) in 2023.
President Trump, over the weekend, appeared on the CBS News program ‘60 Minutes” where he was asked about his decision to pardon CZ. Responding to the question, the billionaire President said he did not know who CZ was, but had heard that his case was a “witch hunt” under Joe Biden’s presidency.
Following President Trump’s claim, 60 Minutes host Norah O’Donnell went on to mention that Binance has played a crucial part in putting the World Liberty Financial tokens out in the global market. At present, the token’s market cap stands at $3.11 billion.
“Well, here’s the thing, I know nothing about it because I’m too busy. I can only tell you this. My sons are into it,” said Trump. “I’m glad they are, because it’s probably a great industry, crypto,” media reports have quoted President Trump as saying.
After CZ had pleaded guilty in 2023, Binance had shelled out $4.3 billion as a settlement fine. CZ also paid a penalty of $50 million, stepped down from his role as Binance’s CEO, and completed a four-month prison sentence last year. He petitioned for a Presidential pardon in May this year.
While many from the crypto community celebrated CZ’s pardon, several criticized the development as well. Senator Elizabeth Warren from the opposition Democratic Party has, for instance, expressed criticism around the decision calling it a “kind of corruption”.
During the 60 Minutes interview, the host did try to touch on these allegations however, President Trump did not give a concrete statement defending his decision.
Following CZ’s pardon, Binance opened deposits for the Trump family-backed USD1 stablecoin.
Last week, Binance.US had posted an official response to allegations by U.S. Senator Chris Murphy that the firm is deliberately promoting Trump crypto after business tycoon Changpeng Zhao was granted an official pardon. Binance U.S. had said that the organization conducts thorough due diligence before listing any token on its platform.