Senator Accuses Binance of Corruption in Trump Pardon Deal

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) has directly accused Binance of operating as an instrument of corruption, alleging the cryptocurrency exchange helped facilitate what he termed Trump’s “corrupt crypto coin” and United Arab Emirates deals in exchange for a presidential pardon for its billionaire founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. The allegations gained traction when Binance US announced on Tuesday that it would list USD1, a stablecoin issued by Trump’s World Liberty Financial project, exactly one week after the White House confirmed President Donald Trump had pardoned Zhao. Murphy characterized the timing as evidence of a coordinated arrangement, tweeting “We aren’t dumb. Your company launched Trump’s corrupt crypto coin. You greased the wheels of the massively corrupt UAE ‘trade secrets for cash’ deal. You basically did whatever crooked thing Trump asked. And then, voila – your billionaire owner gets a pardon!”

The pardon itself cleared Zhao of violations of U.S. anti-money laundering laws for which he had served four months in federal prison in 2024. The Trump administration had touted the pardon as ending what it called the “Biden Administration’s war on crypto,” but Murphy and other Democrats immediately interpreted it as political favor-trading. Murphy escalated his criticism following the USD1 listing, declaring “One week after Trump pardoned Binance’s owner (for a stunning array of crimes related to terrorist and sex predator financing), Binance starts promoting Trump crypto. The White House is a full-time, 24/7 corruption machine.”

The pardon and subsequent Binance listing triggered immediate condemnation from prominent Democratic figures. Ranking Member Maxine Waters called Trump’s pardon “an appalling but unsurprising reflection of his presidency,” while Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) have backed a formal resolution condemning the action. Their resolution states that Trump’s decision followed “months of an increasingly intertwined business relationship” with Zhao and urges Congress to stop “such blatant corruption and influence-peddling.”

Representative Ro Khanna responded to the controversy by announcing legislation to ban elected officials from owning or creating cryptocurrencies, a direct attempt to prevent similar situations in the future. The coordinated Democratic response highlights growing concerns about the intersection of political power and cryptocurrency ventures, particularly given Binance’s documented financial ties to Trump’s crypto firms. Democrats have pointed to a $2 billion investment from MGX in USD1 that reportedly generates $60-80 million annually for World Liberty Financial and approximately $1 billion for the Trump family, creating substantial financial incentives for favorable treatment.

In response to Murphy’s allegations, Binance US defended its business practices, tweeting that it conducts “comprehensive due diligence” before listings and noting that USD1 already trades on over 20 exchanges. The company characterized Murphy’s claims as an unfair politicization of routine business operations. The defense underscores the tension between established regulatory frameworks and the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency market, where traditional notions of conflict of interest and corruption are being tested.

Industry figures have entered the fray, with Komodo Platform Chief Technology Officer Kadan Stadelmann telling Decrypt that Murphy is “trying to defend a flailing system losing its grip on money and financial surveillance.” Stadelmann noted that the market has clearly adopted World Liberty Financial’s USD1, with its listing on major exchanges beyond just Binance US. He characterized Washington D.C. as “akin to a soap opera where Democrats and Republicans lobby accusations at each other of corruption, when both are guilty,” and questioned why Murphy doesn’t “rally against AML failures at big banks? Because what he is doing is political opportunism. All of this is the reason for DeFi.”

The controversy surrounding the Zhao pardon and Binance’s subsequent listing of Trump’s stablecoin represents a critical inflection point for cryptocurrency regulation and political ethics. The allegations have exposed fundamental questions about how traditional political influence operations translate to the digital asset space, where large financial interests and regulatory frameworks remain in flux. The situation demonstrates how cryptocurrency ventures can become entangled in political favor-trading allegations, particularly when substantial financial stakes are involved.

The political firestorm has accelerated legislative efforts to create clearer boundaries between political office and cryptocurrency interests. The proposed ban on elected officials owning or creating cryptocurrencies represents a significant potential shift in how politicians interact with digital assets. Meanwhile, the congressional resolution condemning the pardon signals growing willingness among lawmakers to treat cryptocurrency-related political favors as matters of serious ethical concern. As the industry continues to mature, this case may establish important precedents for how corruption allegations in the crypto space are investigated and addressed within the political system.