Binance founder and former CEO has disputed allegations in a WSJ report that links him to Trump’s World Liberty Financial.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder and former CEO of Binance, has denied allegations from an article published by The Wall Street Journal that stated that CZ acted as an intermediary between the World Liberty Financial (WLF) team and tech entrepreneur Bilal bin Saqib.
CZ criticized the Wall Street Journal article, claiming it was riddled with inaccuracies and accused the author of attempting to create a hit piece aimed at portraying the crypto industry in a negative light.
Taking to X, CZ firmly stated that he is not a fixer and rejected the WSJ’s portrayal of his alleged involvement with World Liberty Financial. The organization, which has ties to Trump’s family, was reportedly introduced to several foreign investors, including Bilal bin Saqib, claims that CZ has outright denied.
Another hit piece from Wall Street Journal. WSJ instead of doing journalism, has pretty much resorted to Cunningham’s Law, with negative intentions.
"Cunningham's Law: The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer."…
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) May 23, 2025
CZ criticized the brand of journalism practiced by WSJ and vehemently denied any involvement in acting as a “fixer” for World Liberty Financial. Binance founder noted that Saqib and WLF had “known each other way back, whereas I only met with Mr. Saqib for the first time in Pakistan.”
This X response follows a WSJ publication alleging blurred boundaries between public and private interests concerning WLF. The article highlighted potential overlaps between diplomatic initiatives and private crypto activities, suggesting CZ might have been seeking to gain favor with the Trump administration.
CZ Blames Crypto Opposition
CZ believes that articles like the one WSJ published are designed to dissuade the U.S. from accepting and using cryptocurrency. In the X post, he termed WSJ as merely the mouthpiece for those that opposed cryptocurrency in the U.S. CZ further added that the opposition wants to “attack crypto, global crypto leaders, and the pro-crypto administration.”
CZ and the Wall Street Journal have clashed in the past, most notably when he criticized the publication for alleging that Binance’s former CEO had engaged in discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump about allowing him to purchase a stake in Binance.US.
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