Binance's CZ says he has no business ties with Trump family

Pardoned Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao clarified there are "no business relationships whatsoever" between himself and President Donald Trump's family during a CNBC interview Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Zhao addressed scrutiny following his October 2025 presidential pardon, which drew attention to connections between Binance and World Liberty Financial, a crypto company operated by the Trump family.

The controversy centers on a $2 billion investment into Binance made in March 2025 by MGX, a state-owned firm from Abu Dhabi. The investment used USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial.

"MGX is the investor. They choose USD1," Zhao explained. "My request to them was they pay us in crypto. I don't want to deal with banks, really." He added that Binance has since converted portions of that investment out of USD1 over time.

Zhao emphasized that accepting payment in a particular stablecoin doesn't constitute an investment in its issuer, saying "many people misconstrued that."