Changpeng Zhao Dismisses WSJ's Allegations Related to Trump

"I am not a fixer for anyone," Changpeng "CZ" Zhao fired on May 23, criticizing a report from the Wall Street Journal linking him to a cryptocurrency venture associated with Trump. The Binance founder called these claims "politically motivated" as the conflict over the influence of cryptocurrency intensifies.

WSJ reported that Changpeng Zhao acted as a behind-the-scenes negotiator for the cryptocurrency joint venture World Liberty Financial (WLF) related to Trump. However, Zhao stated that the story distorted the truth. This is his second battle with the newspaper in just a few months. Changpeng Zhao compared to WSJ: A clash between storytelling and media bias? According to The Wall Street Journal, Changpeng Zhao introduced Pakistani entrepreneur Bilal bin Saqib to WLFI co-founder Zach Witkoff, helping to arrange meetings that led to a government deal. Zhao denied this, saying, "I met Mr. Saqib for the first time on that trip," and argued that Saqib and the Witkoffs knew each other. He called the story "faulty." Disputes revolve around conflicting claims about CZ's influence. The WSJ argues that his role is key to the $550 million token sale of WLFI and a $2 billion deal in Abu Dhabi. Zhao also opposes this, stating that the report is flawed. His team sent a correction, but the magazine did not include them, and Zhao called it "biased reporting". The report also raises ethical concerns, noting that WLFI leaders combine government and private enterprise. Steve Witkoff serves as Trump's envoy while his son Zach runs WLFI, which has raised $550 million this year.

This is the second clash between CZ and the magazine in several months after an April report citing anonymous sources indicating that Zhao had agreed to testify against Tron’s Justin Sun during plea negotiations. He called it "baseless," noting that the protected witnesses would avoid prison. Critics see a pattern as Zhao currently sees both episodes as media bias against cryptocurrency, even as regulators ramp up scrutiny of projects like WLF. However, neutral observers still have many questions. If Changpeng Zhao did not participate, why did WLF's agreement with Pakistan occur after these meetings? And why does the magazine still maintain its sources? The risks far exceed the headlines. Trump's Cryptocurrency Empire: Where Politics and Digital Assets Collide This controversy reflects broader tensions in Washington. Just three days before CZ's rebuttal, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins faced pointed questions from Congress about the decision to suspend investigations into both Justin Sun and a meme coin related to Trump. Critics also see a pattern of special treatment, while supporters call for political targeting. Atkins asserted that the matter concerning Tron is still ongoing while also introducing new regulations regarding stablecoins, even as WLFI prepares to launch the USD1 stablecoin backed by the Department of the Treasury. However, this link is much deeper than merely filing according to regulations. For example, President Trump's family holds 60% of the shares in WLFI, transferring 75% of the revenue from token sales into their treasury while allocating only 5% for platform development. This unbalanced financial structure has surprised some people at the recent WLFI dinner at the Virginia golf club, where Justin Sun received a gold watch from POTUS after accumulating a large stake worth $TRUMP.

The fundraising activities have raised $148 million from exclusive dinners, during which a public investor admitted that people primarily buy WLFI tokens because of the "cryptocurrency chairman" link. Monitoring groups call this the clearest combination of political power and cryptocurrency, where leaders benefit from digital assets and regulators promote some cases while slowing down others. From 550 million dollars in revenue to a loss of 3.9 billion dollars: The volatility of Trump-related tokens New data shows that $TRUMP whales, including some VIPs at the dinner in Washington last Friday, are now deep in the red. According to Bloomberg, 19 major wallets have seen their $TRUMP holdings drop by 52% in just one month. The largest wallet lost 48 million dollars after the price dropped from 61 dollars to 12 dollars on 800,000 tokens. The damage is not limited to a few investors. 590,000 wallets have lost a total of $3.9 billion, while Chainalysis reports that $320 million in transaction fees have been transferred to entities related to Trump. Dan Nathan of CNBC called this a "perfect Ponzi scheme," arguing that the endless flow of money drives prices up while filling the pockets of the Trump Organization. Currently, lawmakers are getting involved. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff want to launch an investigation into the ethics and the new MEME law that could prevent state officials from profiting from tokens. Meanwhile, World Liberty Financial and supporters of the 1 USD stablecoin backed by the Treasury have criticized the Senate's investigation into their transactions. In a letter from the large U.S. law firm BakerHostetler, WLF asserts that USD1 holds all short-term Treasury reserves and promotes this currency as a means to channel global demand into U.S. bonds, maintaining the dominance of cryptocurrency on U.S. soil.