Binance weighs US strategy as billionaire Zhao regains clout

Changpeng Zhao has unfinished business.

The billionaire co-founder of Binance has stepped back into the spotlight, praising President Donald Trump’s crypto stance at every turn, and signaling enthusiasm for the US market where the firm he helped create is now weighing a comeback.

Recently pardoned by Trump, Zhao holds no official role at the crypto exchange any longer, but remains an influential voice. Zhao has cast the US as central to the industry’s future — and therefore, implicitly, to Binance’s.

The firm has been exploring ways to reboot its American affiliate, Binance.US, including a potential recapitalization that could reduce Zhao’s majority stake, according to people familiar with the matter. His role as a controlling investor has been a major hurdle for expanding in key states, they said. The discussions remain fluid.

“It is my full intention to help make America the capital of crypto,” Zhao said at Binance Blockchain Week earlier this month, calling it “an emerging land for us.”

Binance recently announced that Yi He — another co-founder, who is Zhao’s domestic partner and the mother of three of his children — was promoted to co-CEO alongside Richard Teng. During her appearance at the Binance event, she said Zhao had “retired,” though he was front and center for much of it.

Ramping up meaningfully in the US would mean navigating dozens of state licensing regimes or betting on a still-hypothetical federal framework. The plea agreement Zhao reached in 2023 for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance bars him from formal or informal involvement in the company’s operations.

Binance’s global entity also pleaded guilty to federal charges and agreed to pay billions in fines. Whether, or to what extent, Zhao’s October pardon affects the restrictions laid out in the plea deal has not been definitively resolved, though the political backdrop in Washington has shifted.

“We cannot comment on hypothetical storylines,” a Binance spokesperson said. “None of these speculative scenarios reflect accurate facts.” Zhao, He and Teng didn’t return requests for comment.

Tearful departure

Since US agencies charged Zhao and Binance two years ago, Binance.US has lost significant ground. At the Binance event the first week of December, Zhao recalled the firm having 35% market share at one point, a figure that has effectively dropped to zero.

“When I stepped down as Binance CEO I actually cried,” Zhao said at the Binance event. “It took me a little bit to get over it.”

A number of states have revoked its licenses while others, like New York, never granted one in the first place. Some supporters argue the market?structure bill under consideration could, if enacted, create a federal licensing regime that would change the calculus for firms like Binance. But the legislation has stalled amid political disagreements, and its prospects remain uncertain.

If Binance were to buy some or all of Zhao’s stake, it could install new leadership, pursue business strategies to boost growth and lean on political relationships in Washington, said the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the company’s plans.

There is some urgency for Binance to make decisions. The pleasant regulatory mood of today could evaporate if Democrats gain more power in midterm elections next year, or retake the White House later on. Some think the tide has already begun to turn. Washington lobbyists had initially predicted the market-structure bill would pass by year-end, but now they’re not sure it will get through at all.

“Compromise text that can be reached that satisfies both parties’ political interests, as well as the traditional finance and crypto industries will be challenging,” said Chris Hayes, a partner at Thorn Run Partners, a government-relations firm in Washington. He still thinks the bill has a strong chance of passing.

Separately, Binance has been pursuing a closer relationship with the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock Inc., according to some of the people. It’s another sign that the crypto firm wants to deepen relationships with established US financial players.

BlackRock has a tokenized money-market fund that institutions can use to back trades on Binance. The two have discussed deepening their financial ties, including additional products and potential revenue-sharing arrangements, according to people familiar with the matter.

A BlackRock spokesperson declined to comment.

Binance has also been getting closer to World Liberty Financial Inc., a crypto venture co-founded by Trump family members. Some of those moves preceded Zhao’s pardon and emphasize how Binance is repositioning itself in a more welcoming political landscape.

CEO shuffling

Binance positioned the promotion of Yi He, Zhao’s partner, as a sign of stability.

She has become the public face of Binance in recent months, headlining events, steering strategy and reviving Binance’s growth narrative. Her visibility, at minimum, complicates efforts to demonstrate distance from Zhao, who still has a $36 billion fortune from his controlling stake in the company, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Yi He’s elevation has also raised questions among some observers about the balance of power between her and Teng. A longtime former regulator, Teng was instrumental to Binance’s outreach to governments since his appointment to the CEO role two years ago, when the company was reeling from criminal charges and Zhao’s departure. Now that crisis has largely ended.

When Binance revs up its US push, many believe it will be aggressive. The company has historically won market share by charging zero or much-lower fees than competitors. Rivals like Coinbase have reason to worry the strategy could reappear.

But its ascent can’t happen overnight. At the moment, Binance.US is not allowed to operate in more than a dozen states and US territories, according to its website, including some crucial ones, like New York.

“It would be a big challenge for them to get money-transmitter licenses, especially in Democratic states,” said Lee Reiners, a lecturing fellow at Duke University who specializes in financial law and policy. “Clearly those states will be less welcoming to those overtures and have legitimate concerns.”

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