Binance presses for oversight leniency, discusses listing Trump crypto: WSJ

The Wall Street Journal has said Binance executives called on US Treasury officials in March to discuss relaxing government regulation on the company and looking into a potential business partnership with President Donald Trump's cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial.

The WSJ article, which cited sources involved with the discussions, on Friday said executives of the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world urged the Treasury authorities to remove a US monitor that was monitoring the company's adherence to anti-money-laundering laws.

Binance has also been in talks to list a new dollar-pegged cryptocurrency from World Liberty Financial, it added.

At the meeting, Binance CEO Richard Teng and Chief Legal Officer Eleanor Hughes asked for the removal of monitorship or reduction of its duration and scope, the paper said.

Binance, the Treasury Department and World Liberty Financial did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Last month, the Journal said Binance's billionaire founder Changpeng Zhao had been pushing for a pardon from the administration.

In November 2023, Zhao stepped down from his CEO role and pleaded guilty to breaking US anti-money laundering laws in a $4.3-billion settlement that resolved a years-long investigation.