Trump’s on-air denial of meeting Binance founder Changpeng Zhao “CZ” after forgiving him is stirring up a debate in Washington and across the crypto markets.
In “60 Minutes” interview that aired on Sunday, President Donald Trump said he does not know Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the Binance founder whom he pardoned last month.
He defended the measure as a response to what he called a “witch hunt” of the Biden era.
The exchange came during questioning by CBS’s Norah O’Donnell about potential conflicts associated with the Trump family’s growing cryptocurrency business.
“I don’t know who it is… I heard it was a Biden witch hunt,” Trump told O’Donnell, adding that his children are involved in cryptocurrencies but are “not in government.”
Why did Trump pardon Binance’s crypto uncle Changpeng Zhao?
The White House and World Liberty Financial (WLF), the Trump family’s crypto company, say they had nothing to do with the pardon for Changpeng Zhao.
zhao accepted to a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act in 2023, related to Binance’s weak anti-money laundering controls.
He received a four-month sentence in April 2024 and was released from prison in September. Binance later agreed to pay $4.3 billion and accept a third-party compliance monitor. Trump granted Zhao a full pardon on October 23, 2025.
Previous Reuters reporting saying A UAE-backed company planned to use WLF’s $1 stablecoin in a $2 billion deal involving Binance.
The report raised concerns about conflicts of interest because the Trump family has deep ties to WLF.
Another Reuters report found that the Trumps could benefit from the interest generated by the stablecoin.
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Does Trump’s statement undermine his arguments in favor of granting clemency?
Democratic legislators and ethics advocates damned forgiveness; Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, called Zhao’s pardon “appalling,” citing Binance’s past compliance failures highlighted by US agencies.
The White House has framed the move as part of ending a supposed “war on cryptocurrencies.”
For Binance, the timing shows that the 2023-24 deal did not end US pressure.
The company is still working with its compliance supervisor and attempting to re-enter the US market with reduced legal risks.
For Trump, his comments could make it more difficult to later claim that any pardon was based on his personal knowledge of Zhao’s efforts to fix past problems.
At the time of this publication, Bitcoin was trading around $106,927, showing a drop of 2.85% in the last 24 hours.
On the other hand, BNB traded near $993.85, representing an intraday decline of -8.10%, reflecting a choppy session as traders analyzed the interview and ongoing political headlines.
What comes next depends on whether Congress or CBS, if pressed, release the full version of the interview.
It also depends on whether the White House releases a written explanation of the pardon that matches Trump’s on-air statement.
Markets will be watching for signs that this dispute slows Binance’s plans to regain broader access to the US or complicates the administration’s pro-cryptocurrency plans.
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