Binance founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao has denied the claims from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that he struck a deal with US authorities which allegedly saw him give evidence against Tron founder Justin Sun.
Sun has also come forward to debunk the allegations from a Wall Street Journal article on Friday (April 11), calling CZ “my mentor and a close friend”.
BREAKING: BINANCE EXECUTIVES MET WITH TREASURY DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS LAST MONTH AFTER THE COMPANY ENTERED INTO TALKS WITH A TRUMP FAMILY VENTURE – PER WSJ pic.twitter.com/qRRBbtdDdW
— DEGEN NEWS (@DegenerateNews) April 12, 2025
CZ Vehemently Denied The WSJ Claims, With The Binance Founder Calling It A Smear Campaign Against Him
In a post from Friday, WSJ claimed that CZ is providing evidence against the Tron blockchain founder as part of the 2023 plea deal he struck with the US authorities.
Following the deal with the Department of Justice (DOJ), CZ preceded to spend four months in US prison, when he was released in September 2024.
The article claimed that Binance executives met with Treasury Department officials in March 2023. Per unnamed sources, the discussion allegedly centered on ways to loosen the US government’s oversight of the leading cryptocurrency exchange.
WSJ sources also allege that Binance mentioned exploring a business deal with the Trump family crypto venture, World Liberty Financial. However, no deal has been announced at this time.
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According to the same sources, company executives requested that officials from the Treasury Department in Washington remove the monitor overseeing Binance’s compliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws.
The goal from Binance’s side was supposedly aimed at reinstating the company in the US market after it was previously found guilty of violating the same AML laws, dating back to 2018.
As part of the meeting with US authorities, CZ supposedly agreed to help prosecutors investigate Justin Sun. Sun is currently facing separate SEC and DOJ scrutiny and has been a person of interest for some time.
In response to these rumors, CZ wrote on X, saying “multiple people have told me again WSJ is writing another baseless hit piece about me.”
CZ stated that even if he wanted to, he could not help the government as a witness. “They seem to have forgotten who went to prison and who didn’t. People who become gov witnesses don’t go to prison. They are protected,” he wrote on X.
No one in US history went to jail for a single BSA violation, except me.
— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) April 12, 2025
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Justin Sun Comes To The Defence Of The Binance Founder, Calls Him “A Close Friend”
Sun has also expressed his confusion at the allegations, stating that he’s unaware of the recent rumors surrounding CZ. The Tron founder took to
He noted that the former Binance CEO is both a mentor to him and a close friend. His full endorsement of the CZ reads;
“He has given me attention, guidance, and direction during my entrepreneurial process! To this day, his principles and style of doing things are still the highest standards I pursue as an entrepreneur.”
The Tron founder believes this may be one of their adversaries’ tactics to sow discourse. In his post, Sun commended the integrity of the Binance founder while pointing out that the DOJ is one of the members of the T3 Financial Crime Units (T3 FCU), which also includes Tron and Tether.
Blockchain intelligence platform TRM Labs makes up the remaining member of T3 FCU, with the unit naming the DOJ as one of its closest and most trusted partners.
To this date, Tether has assisted the unit by freezing over $100 million in USDT gained via illicit activity.
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Binance founder CZ refutes claims from the Wall Street Journal that he cooperated with US authorities in exchange for a reduced sentence
- The WSJ also accuse CZ of giving information to authorities on Tron founder Justin Sun
- CZ believes there is a smear campaign against him, says he heard WSJ have been paid to spread fake news on him
- Justin Sun defends CZ, calls him a close friend and a mentor, doesn’t believe the allegations
The post CZ Fires Back At Wall Street Journal: Denies Turning Informant On Justin Sun appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
