Binance.US has denied accusations that its current itemizing of USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Monetary, was politically motivated or linked to President Donald Trump.
The assertion adopted criticism from Senator Chris Murphy, who claimed the transfer was a “thank-you gesture” after Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao final week. Murphy alleged on X that Binance’s promotion of “Trump crypto” got here simply days after the pardon of its founder for “crimes associated to terrorist and intercourse predator financing.”
In response, Binance.US mentioned the choice to record USD1 had been made nicely earlier than the pardon and was a part of the trade’s regular itemizing course of. The corporate emphasised that USD1 and World Liberty Monetary’s WLFI token are additionally accessible on different main U.S. platforms, together with Coinbase, Kraken, and Robinhood.
“This was a enterprise choice and nothing extra,” the corporate said, including that it was “unlucky” to see routine operations politicized.
USD1, pegged to the U.S. greenback, is presently the sixth-largest stablecoin in circulation, with a market capitalization of about $2.97 billion. World Liberty Monetary has come beneath scrutiny for its shut ties to Trump, who has publicly advocated for increasing the stablecoin trade within the U.S.
Criticism of Zhao’s pardon has continued from Democratic lawmakers, together with Consultant Maxine Waters, who accused Trump of favoring “crypto criminals” and benefiting personally from ties to World Liberty Monetary.
Zhao, who pled responsible in 2023 to failing to keep up an satisfactory anti-money laundering program, served a brief jail sentence after Binance and its associates agreed to pay over $4.3 billion in penalties. Following his launch, Zhao publicly thanked Trump and pledged to assist make the U.S. “the capital of crypto.”
