President Donald Trump has publicly washed his hands of the cryptocurrency billionaire he personally pardoned just last month, insisting he’s never even heard of the guy. The eyebrow-raising exchange unfolded on CBS’s 60 Minutes, leaving viewers wondering if Trump’s memory is sharper than a Bitcoin spike or fuzzier than a forgotten wallet password.
Picture the scene: Norah O’Donnell, with the poise of a poker player holding aces, corners Trump on why he’d forgive Changpeng Zhao—aka CZ, the Binance brainiac who turned digital coins into a global gold rush. Zhao’s rap sheet? A guilty plea to money laundering in 2023, a four-month stint in the slammer, and a forced exit from the crypto throne he built.
Trump’s retort? A casual shrug that could double as a yoga pose: “Okay, are you ready? I don’t know who he is.” It’s the kind of line that makes White House stenographers reach for the popcorn, as aides in the background surely stifled giggles—or gasps.
But hold the eye-rolls; there’s more. Trump doubled down, claiming zero meetings, zero recollections, and zero clues about CZ—except for whispers that the whole saga was a Biden-era “witch hunt” cooked up to kneecap crypto cowboys. Because nothing says “fair trial” like prosecutors yelling “national security threat” while Zhao’s empire keeps humming as the world’s busiest digital dime-flipping den.
Zoom in on the connections, folks, because they’re knottier than a blockchain. Zhao’s outfits have cozied up with Trump-tied ventures, like Dominari Holdings—parked right in Trump Tower, with the president’s sons lounging on its advisory board. It’s less a partnership and more a family reunion where everyone’s wearing suits made of stock options.
And the crypto love fest doesn’t stop there. Trump’s administration hit pause on a fraud probe against Justin Sun after his cash flowed into the Trump clan’s World Liberty Financial gig. Then, in a deal sweeter than free transaction fees, a stablecoin from that very firm greased a $2 billion Abu Dhabi bet on—yep—Binance.
Tensions simmered as O’Donnell pressed: Why pardon a guy accused of “significant harm” to Uncle Sam’s defenses? Trump pivoted like a pro surfer on a meme coin wave, touting America’s need to dominate digital dough or watch China snatch the scepter. “We can’t let them win,” he declared, as if crypto were the new Cold War, fought with keyboards and keyphrases.
Enter White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, swooping in like a caped crusader for coinage. She branded Zhao’s prosecution a “war on cryptocurrency,” a Biden blunder so bungled it begged for a presidential do-over. “Thoroughly reviewed,” she insisted, as if the pardon came with a 30-day money-back guarantee on regrets.
Now, the pardon’s magic wand waves away Zhao’s venture shackles, but regulators might still eye him like a suspicious smart contract. Will he reclaim Binance’s helm? Or pivot to advising on Trump Tower’s next NFT vending machine? The crypto crystal ball stays foggy.
Trump’s mercy march marches on, too. He’s sprung the BitMEX duo from money-laundering woes and even unlocked Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road’s shadowy sovereign, after years of dark-web drama. It’s a pardon parade where the guest list reads like a hacker’s hall of fame—minus the wanted posters.
Critics cluck about conflicts, sniffing personal piggy banks in the mix. Leavitt? She waves it off: Just fixing “Biden’s misjustice,” one executive order at a time. Fair enough—until the next 60 Minutes mic drop.
Leave a Reply