Binance CEO Richard Teng Denies Reports That Binance.US Was in Deal Talks with Trump-Affiliated Entities

Richard Teng's statement reiterated the position taken by Binance's founder, Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, and Trump, both of whom denied the story last week.

Binance CEO Richard Teng has shut down rumors that the firm was in deal talks with entities affiliated with US President Donald Trump during a Monday panel at Blockworks’ 2025 Digital Asset Summit in New York.

Teng’s statement at the summit, which was attended by Cointelegraph, furthered the position taken by Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao and Trump, both of whom denied a March 13 report by The Wall Street Journal.

The report claimed that Binance.US, an independently-operated US cryptocurrency exchange, was discussing selling an equity interest to Trump-affilied business entities. Among the entities in talks with the former president’s family was World Liberty Financial, the Trumps’ decentralized finance (DeFi) project.

“I believe both World Liberty Financial as well as CZ himself have tweeted and denied the reforms, right? So that there’s really nothing else to add,” Teng said.

The Binance executives' X accounts have since been suspended. However, in a March 13 post, CZ stated that the report was "full of inaccuracies."

Richard Teng speaks during Blockworks' Digital Asset Summit in New York.

Moreover, Teng highlighted that Binance.US is distinct in terms of both law and operation from its namesake in the greater world.

“US and dotcom are quite different animals, right? They have different set of shareholders, they have different board of directors and different CEO running the show,” Teng explained.

However, in his remarks, Teng did praise Trump, saying that Binance has benefited from the president’s “pro-crypto” policies despite not directly operating in the US.

“Last year was a landmark year in that institutions are finally coming on board,” remarked Teng.

In a departure from his predecessor, Joe Biden, Trump has said he wants to make America the “world’s crypto capital” and has appointed pro-industry leadership to key regulatory posts.

"Now all good, but they are making up a story about an 'opium-smoking dragon' in a 'yellow submarine,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "The Globalist Wall Street Journal has no idea what they are doing or saying. They are owned by the polluted thinking of the European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of ‘screwing’ the United States of America."

The report, which cited sources familiar with the matter, also mentioned that CZ — who served four months in prison in the US — has been pushing for the Trump administration to grant him a pardon.

“It is unclear what form the Trump family stake would take if the deal comes together or whether it would be contingent on a pardon,” the report added.

Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, but Binance.US lags Coinbase in the US market.

The news comes as Trump continues to make headlines for his foray into the crypto space. In January, the former president launched his own memecoin, which raised $350 million for its creators, according to a report by Bloomberg.

"Last year, they threatened to shut down the entire banking system if they didn't get a bill passed to provide more "climate-friendly" investments," the former president wrote in a post on Thursday. "The Globalist women in the Union may be able to get away with this in Europe, but not in the U.S.A."

The report also highlighted that Trump has appointed pro-crypto personnel to key regulatory posts, in contrast to Biden's administration.

"The Biden administration has focused on consumer protection and mitigating the risks posed by cryptocurrencies, while the Trump administration is more interested in promoting innovation and making the U.S. the global leader in the crypto industry," an expert in US economic policy and an associate professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University, told Bloomberg.

The report further noted that Trump's administration officials have voiced support for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. For instance, the former president's administration signaled its intent to create a U.S. version of the e-euro, aiming to integrate a digital dollar into the payments system.

However, experts have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest arising from Trump's crypto ventures and his ties to the crypto firm World Liberty Financial.

"Unusually for a U.S. president, Trump is personally involved in cryptocurrency projects and has spoken frequently and positively about crypto despite the administration's silence on the matter," an expert on the U.S. presidency, political communication and an associate professor of communication at Boston University, told Bloomberg.

"It’s also unusual for a former president to maintain such close ties with a cryptocurrency company after leaving office."