Now, with his pardon secured, Binance—the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange—is reportedly preparing to re-enter the American market after its 2023 ban.
A Binance attorney told the Journal that Zhao was not “the relationship facilitator or financier” in the deal between World Liberty and MGX, an Emirati state-financed group that invested $2 billion in the firm using the new stablecoin.
World Liberty’s lawyer denied any coordination with Zhao’s team, asserting the company “never assisted in, facilitated, or influenced” the pardon decision.
Trump’s Nuclear Testing Comments Cause Global Alarm and Renew Arms Race Fears
Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and the Biden Crypto Crackdown
The pardon reignited debate over “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” a term used by crypto advocates to describe alleged efforts by the Biden administration to discourage banks from working with cryptocurrency firms.
Newly released documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act suggest that federal regulators and agencies like the SEC and FDIC pressured banks to “pause all crypto-asset-related activity.”
