Members of the Trump family initiated talks to gain investment in Binance”s U.S. operations sources reported to The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

Changpeng Zhao of Binance started speaking with Trump administration figures because he wants a pardon from them since his 2023 guilty plea. The discussions started when Binance tried to work with Trump associates last year serve as the starting point of their U.S. market rebuilding plan.

After halting payments since 2023 for legal reasons Binance.US reinstated financial transactions for the first time because the Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit forced banking partners to discontinue their relationship with the platform.

Donald Trump’s Growing Influence in Crypto

Old Liberty Financial offers insights on how the Trump family might have entered the business partnership with Trump either directly or enabled by DeFi assets. No one knows if Zhao needs the stake as a condition to receive a presidential pardon.

During April Zhao served four months of his prison term for not running an effective anti-money laundering program and received his release in September. The authorities imposed a total 4.3 billion dollar penalty on Binance plus a 50 million dollar fine to its CEO Sam Bankman-Fried as part of their joint settlement agreement.

Following his departure from CEO duties Zhao retains his position as the largest shareholder of the exchange. Donald Trump engages more deeply with cryptocurrencies while Trump family members potentially work with Binance.US.

Trump Supports Digital Currencies with NFTs

The Trump presidency supports digital currencies by launching Solana-based memecoin editions and NFT collections. His government team has started to bring digital assets under federal rules and regulations.

In March Trump took action by creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that uses 200,000 stolen Bitcoin worth $17 billion plus some confiscated cryptocurrency funds except items going back to crime victims. Treasury Secretary Bessent and Commerce Secretary Lutnick needed to find ways to buy more Bitcoin without using taxpayer money in accordance with the new presidential order.

Through this order the U.S. government collects seized cryptocurrency assets but does not allocate budget funds to buy other cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin.

The Trump family”s possible partnership with Binance.US affects US cryptocurrency rules at the same time it impacts the American crypto sector. Major financial figures form business connections in digital finance to influence its development nowadays.