President Trump talks crypto, corruption and Changpeng Zhao in ’60 Minutes’ interview

U.S. President Donald Trump sat for an extended interview with the news program “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday evening. The topic of cryptocurrency came up at the tail end of the 90-minute interview, wherein the president reiterated his aim to make America the crypto capital of the world.

“We’re number one in crypto in the whole world,” Trump told CBS reporter Norah O’Donnell in the interview aired Sunday. “Other people wanna be. They’re fighting like hell to be. But we’re number one in crypto because I’m the president.”

“I don’t want China or anybody else to take it away,” Trump added. “It’s a massive industry.”

Trump said former President Joe Biden switched his tune on the crypto industry towards the end of his reelection campaign to no avail. He noted many people were under indictment under the Biden administration, but then “went all in on crypto at the very end because he thought he could get some votes.”

“It didn’t work. They voted for me. I wanna make crypto great for America,” Trump said. “Because in crypto it’s a kind of an industry where basically you’re going to have number one and you’re not gonna have a number two.”

Trump himself switched his opinion on the industry in the spring of 2024, and his three sons, Donald Jr., Eric, and Baron, are now all involved in crypto. The Financial Times recently estimated that the Trump family has profited over $1 billion from their various crypto interests, which span bitcoin mining to memecoins.

Trump talks CZ, corruption

Trump signed several executive orders pertaining to crypto shortly after taking office in January, including an order to create a working group for digital asset policy and another to establish a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile. His administration, particularly the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has since dismissed lawsuits against a plethora of crypto entities such as Coinbase, Gemini, OpenSea, and Uniswap.

Early in his second tenure, Trump also issued an executive grant of clemency to pardon Ross Ulbricht, the Silk Road creator who was serving multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Last month, Trump pardoned Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao after he pleaded guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an “effective anti-money laundering program.” Zhao had served four months in prison before being released in September 2024. In multiple statements, Trump and his administration claimed the former Binance CEO was “persecuted” by the Biden administration, something the president doubled down on with “60 Minutes.”

“Okay, are you ready? I don’t know who he is. I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that. And I heard it was a Biden witch hunt,” Trump said.

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reported the Trump-supported World Liberty Financial had discussed buying a stake in Binance.US amid claims Zhao was seeking a presidential pardon — a report World Liberty dismissed as politically motivated. About six weeks later, Abu Dhabi–based MGX said it would use World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin in a $2 billion deal with Binance.

CBS’s O’Donnell asked the president if he was concerned about the appearance of corruption.

“I can’t say, because — I can’t say — I’m not concerned,” Trump said, according to the transcript. “We’re number one in crypto in the whole world. Other people wanna be. They’re fighting like hell to be. But we’re number one in crypto because I’m the president.”

Of note, Zhao’s lawyer has demanded an “immediate retraction” from Sen. Elizabeth Warren over post-pardon remarks she has made, and Zhao is even reportedly considering a libel lawsuit against her.