The crypto giant promoted USD1, a digital asset pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar launched by the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial—and its developers also wrote the code behind it, Bloomberg reported, citing three unnamed sources. Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s Canadian founder, later applied for a presidential pardon after pleading guilty in 2023 to failing to put policies in place to prevent money laundering at the crypto firm. (Bloomberg)

Talking point: The arrangement adds to perceptions of conflict of interest surrounding the Trump family’s crypto ventures. According to an April report from advocacy group State Democracy Defenders Action, the president’s crypto holdings represent US$2.9 billion, nearly 40 per cent of his net worth, and nearly half of all corporate contributions to his campaign came from the crypto industry amid promises of friendlier regulations. Binance told Bloomberg it followed standard listing processes for USD1 and a World Liberty spokesperson said the report’s claims are “factually deficient.”