Binance founder Changpeng Zhao “CZ” has publicly dismissed a Wall Street Journal report claiming he provided evidence against TRON founder Justin Sun as part of his plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The report also said Binance executives are lobbying the Treasury Department to loosen oversight and may list a new Trump-linked stablecoin, USD1.
“WSJ is really TRYING here,” CZ wrote on X, suggesting the article might be part of a smear campaign. “People who become gov witnesses don’t go to prison… I heard someone paid WSJ employees to smear me.” Zhao served a four-month prison term after pleading guilty in late 2023 to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), a sentence substantially reduced from the three years originally sought by prosecutors.
Justin Sun also denied any conflict with CZ, calling him “a mentor and a close friend.” He reaffirmed TRON’s collaboration with U.S. law enforcement through the T3 Financial Crime Unit — a joint initiative with Tether and blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs to combat illicit USDT usage.
No Evidence, No Pardon — Yet
While CZ claimed that witnesses don’t go to prison, that’s not strictly accurate. For example, former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison cooperated with prosecutors against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, but was sentenced to two years despite her cooperation. CZ’s sentence remains the shortest ever handed down for a BSA violation involving a crypto exchange.
The WSJ previously reported that Zhao is also seeking a pardon from President Trump. He did not deny the claim directly but wrote: “No felon would mind a pardon, especially being the only one in U.S. history sentenced to prison for a single BSA charge.”
Trump already issued pardons to high-profile crypto figures including Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and BitMEX co-founders. Reports also suggest Sam Bankman-Fried may be seeking clemency under the Trump administration.
In addition to the DOJ case, WSJ reports that Binance executives recently met with Treasury Department officials in an effort to lift the five-year monitorship imposed by FinCEN and overseen by Sullivan & Cromwell partner Sharon Cohen Levin. A separate three-year monitorship under the DOJ remains in place.
The company is reportedly hopeful that the Trump administration may be open to easing restrictions.
The report also claims Binance is exploring a listing for USD1, a new stablecoin backed by Trump-linked crypto firm World Liberty Financial. The coin is said to be fully collateralized by short-term U.S. Treasuries and cash equivalents.
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