The U.S. arm of the crypto giant could pursue deeper integration with U.S. banks, or even seek a banking licence itself, under U.S. President Donald Trump’s crypto-friendly regulatory regime, Binance’s Canadian co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao told Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Talking point: Zhao made the remarks at a crypto conference that Trump crypto venture World Liberty Financial hosted at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., last week. It was Zhao’s highest-profile appearance in the U.S. since Trump pardoned him in October, after he and Binance pleaded guilty to violating anti-money-laundering laws in 2023. The guilty plea, along with a lawsuit the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped in May that accused Binance and Zhao of illegally serving U.S. users, has made it hard for Binance.US to gain banking access in the country. Democratic lawmakers have questioned whether Zhao’s connections to World Liberty Financial and Trump constitute a conflict of interest.