Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy is sharply criticizing Binance.US, alleging the cryptocurrency exchange played a role in former US President Donald Trump’s pardon of Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the former CEO of Binance.
In a Tuesday post on X, Murphy responded to a Binance.US announcement regarding the launch of trading for USD1, a stablecoin tied to World Liberty Financial, a crypto company connected to the Trump family. According to the senator, the exchange was “promoting Trump crypto” just a week after the president “pardoned Binance’s owner,” referring to Zhao.
Trump’s pardon of Zhao on October 23 ignited debate within the crypto community and Congress. While CZ stated in May that he had applied for a presidential pardon, many questioned whether Trump or his family were responding to financial incentives, including a reported $2 billion investment in Binance using the USD1 stablecoin by an Abu Dhabi-based company.
While Binance and Binance.US share a brand name, they operate as separate legal entities. Cointelegraph has reached out to Binance.US and Senator Murphy’s office for comment but has not yet received a response.
Numerous lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have called for investigations into the CZ pardon or otherwise expressed their disapproval. In a Tuesday letter addressed to the Justice Department, seven senators asserted that the pardon “signals to cryptocurrency executives and other white-collar criminals that they can commit crimes with impunity.”
On Monday, California Representative Ro Khanna announced his intention to introduce legislation aimed at preventing any US president, their family members, and members of Congress from trading cryptocurrencies or stocks. He specifically referenced Zhao’s pardon, characterizing it as “blatant corruption” within the White House.
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