Key Highlights
- CZ attended a crypto forum at Mar-a-Lago after receiving a presidential pardon to rebuild influence in the U.S. market.
- He is focusing on Binance.US, seeking to improve products and expand business in the U.S., while no longer running global Binance.
- Binance.US has faced past regulatory challenges, but CZ sees new opportunities for banking support and growth under a more favorable U.S. environment.
After receiving a presidential pardon in October 2025, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) made a high-profile return to the U.S. crypto scene on February 18 at Mar-a-Lago.
The event was hosted by World Liberty Financial, a Florida-based company linked to the Trump family.
@cz_binance in the room. 🇺🇸🦅
— Liberty 🦅 (@MoonLiberty_) February 18, 2026
At Mar-a-Lago, the first World Liberty Forum brings together capital, policy, and crypto — and Changpeng Zhao is there.
When the founder of Binance shows up, this isn’t noise.
This is signal.
World Liberty Financial $WLFI is not playing small.… pic.twitter.com/Vi3kEOX3sn
This forum brought together investors, bankers, and crypto leaders, giving CZ a chance to meet key people and rebuild his influence in the U.S. market. He used the forum to talk about opportunities for Binance.US as the country tries to grow its digital asset business.
Shifting focus to Binance.US, not global
At the event, CZ clarified that he is focusing on Binance.US, not the global Binance platform. “I don’t run Binance. That role is a chapter that’s closed,” he said. He explained that his strength is in technical matters, not rules and regulations.
CZ said he wants to make Binance.US better for U.S. users and easier to use. “We want to do much more business in the US. We want to bring a superior product into the US. We want to make the superior product offering much more accessible to the US consumer,” he added.
Past challenges and new opportunities
CZ stepped down as CEO of Binance Holdings Ltd. in 2023 after admitting that the company did not keep proper anti-money laundering checks. Even though he left the CEO role, he still owns a big part of Binance and is the main owner of Binance.US, which has its own management team. CZ lives in the United Arab Emirates with his partner Yi He, who became co-CEO of Binance in December.
Binance.US has also faced problems in the past, including losing access to some banks and losing market share after a 2023 lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). That lawsuit was later dropped under Trump-appointed SEC leadership. CZ said the current rules make it easier to explore new ideas, like getting better banking support or even applying for a charter. He stressed that any decision depends on having the right team and legal advice.
CZ also explained Binance’s technical help with World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin, which was later used for a $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi-based MGX. He called this support “quite normal” for blockchain projects. About attending events like Mar-a-Lago, he said, “This is a premier group of people that very few other crypto conferences can invite. What’s the issue for me to attend a conference?”
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