Founders behind high-profile crypto organizations World Liberty Financial and Binance came out swinging on Friday after a news report suggested they had worked hand in glove to promote abroad the DeFi platform closely associated with President Donald Trump.
Following a news story published by The Wall Street Journal, World Liberty Financial co-founder Zak Folkman went on the attack on Friday, posting an impassioned denial to social media aimed at refuting claims that Binance founder Changpeng Zhao had facilitated foreign introductions for the DeFi platform linked to Trump and his sons.
“The suggestion that CZ acted as a ‘facilitator’ or ‘fixer’ for Zach Witkoff or WLFI is not only false, it’s laughable,” Folkman said in his post made through World Liberty Financial’s official X account.
CZ is Zhao’s commonly used nickname, and Witkoff is, alongside Folkman, a co-founder of World Liberty Financial.
The Wall Street Journal article suggested Zhao may have played a role in helping to open doors for World Liberty Financial in Pakistan, Abu Dhabi, and Kyrgyzstan. Specific details of what Zhao may have done to help the Trump-linked project, beyond making introductions, were unclear from the report.
In the article, at least part of both Witkoff and Zhao’s official statements were included. “World Liberty’s spokesman said Zhao and Zach Witkoff are friends but that Zhao doesn’t act as a fixer,” it said. “A Binance spokesperson said Zhao has been driving ‘global innovation’ in the crypto industry, and that the company ‘would be proud to help make the U.S. the crypto capital of the planet.'”
CZ suggests conspiracy to stop Binance
Hours before World Liberty Financial posted its denial Friday, in separate posts, Zhao also blasted the news story, saying first he is “not a fixer for anyone” before then suggesting the article is part of a smear campaign designed to prevent Binance from assisting the U.S. to reach its potential.
“I heard they were paid to smear,” Zhao posted. “Rumor has it that a major VC who invested in a U.S. crypto exchange is lobbying hard against ‘Binance helping U.S. to become the capital of crypto.’ Millions paid in ‘lobbying efforts.’ Fear of competition.”
World Liberty Financial, its founders, Binance, Zhao, and Trump have been under increased scrutiny in recent months, some of which intensified after reports in March said Zhao had sought a pardon from the newly elected U.S. president.
Last year, Zhao was released from prison after serving four months. He pleaded guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an “effective anti-money laundering program” and was fined $50 million. For its part, Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion as part of one of the largest corporate settlements on record.
World Liberty Financial, a project both inspired by Trump and one that calls the president its “chief crypto advocate,” recently launched its own U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin USD1. Earlier this month, Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX agreed to use USD1 to close a massive $2 billion deal with Binance.
This month, Zhao said he had applied for a pardon from President Trump, but he did so after the news reports said he had.
© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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