The Trump family rakes in $4.5 billion! The mysterious cryptocurrency platform behind it is revealed, and the operator turns out to be Binance's Zhao Changpeng?

In the cryptocurrency business empire of the Trump family, a little-known story is emerging, with the shadow of Binance's Zhao Changpeng behind it.

On August 12, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump family's cryptocurrency business is creating wealth at an unprecedented pace, generating over $4.5 billion since the election, surpassing any other sector of Trump's business empire.

Behind this success lies an undisclosed chain of interests involving Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, with a key player being the trading platform PancakeSwap.

In June of this year, the Trump family's cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial announced a partnership with PancakeSwap aimed at increasing the adoption of its stablecoin USD1. Following this, the trading volume of USD1 on PancakeSwap experienced explosive growth, becoming the core engine driving World Liberty Financial's profit increase.

However, the partnership announcement did not disclose a key fact: according to sources familiar with the company, PancakeSwap was actually created and is continuously overseen by internal employees of Binance. This information ties the Trump family's business interests more closely to Binance.

Meanwhile, Zhao Changpeng, the founder of Binance, who spent four months in prison last year due to issues such as money laundering and agreed to pay a hefty fine of $4.3 billion, is intensifying efforts to lobby the White House in hopes of receiving a presidential pardon. Sources say Zhao recently hired lobbyist Ches McDowell, who has close ties to Donald Trump Jr., to push this matter.

This series of business operations has sparked scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded, stating, "The media's continued attempts to fabricate conflicts of interest are irresponsible," and emphasized that "President Trump and his family will not engage in any conflicts of interest now or in the future."

PancakeSwap: The Anonymous "Chef" and Binance's Behind-the-Scenes Hand

PancakeSwap presents itself as a relaxed, decentralized platform, claiming to be operated by a group of anonymous "chefs," likening cryptocurrency trading to "flipping pancakes." However, its background is far from simple.

Former Binance employees claim that the platform was an internally incubated project by Binance in 2020 to capture the "decentralized finance" (DeFi) craze and has remained under Binance's oversight.

The PancakeSwap trading platform is built on Binance's blockchain network, providing the foundational technical support for its operations. This hidden management relationship means that Binance has actually provided critical infrastructure and market channels for the success of USD1, all of which has not been fully disclosed to the public.

USD1 Stablecoin: The Incentive Game Behind the Surge in Trading Volume

At the core of the Trump family's wealth growth is the stablecoin USD1 issued by its company World Liberty Financial. A stablecoin is a type of digital currency pegged to the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio, with the issuer earning interest by investing reserves in government bonds and money market funds According to estimates, with a current circulation of over $2 billion, USD1 can generate approximately $80 million in revenue for World Liberty each year, while the Trump family holds 40% of the company's shares. According to a disclosure document released on Monday, the Trump family's stake in this cryptocurrency is valued at $4.5 billion.

To ignite market demand for USD1, PancakeSwap has played the role of a "booster." The platform launched an initiative called the "Liquidity Drive," offering up to $1 million in rewards to the most active users trading USD1.

As a result of this incentive, the daily trading volume of USD1 on PancakeSwap surged from tens of millions of dollars to over $1 billion, accounting for more than 90% of its total global trading volume. Trevor Xu, founder of the crypto AI company Tagger, stated, "The mainstream narrative in this ecosystem is that Binance is supporting USD1."

Intertwined Interests: From Investment to Pardon Lobbying

Binance's support for USD1 goes beyond PancakeSwap. Blockchain data shows that the Binance platform itself holds $2 billion worth of USD1, ensuring that World Liberty can continue to profit from reserve investments by not liquidating these stablecoins.

Additionally, Binance is promoting emerging token projects that trade with USD1 through its "Binance Alpha" program, further expanding the use cases for USD1.

As business collaborations deepen, Zhao Changpeng's political ambitions seem to surface. Last year, Binance agreed to pay a hefty fine of $4.3 billion for becoming a "money laundering hub," and Zhao Changpeng himself was imprisoned as a result.

According to insiders, this crypto billionaire, whose net worth exceeds $70 billion, recently hired lobbyist Ches McDowell, who has close ties to Donald Trump Jr., to seek a presidential pardon. Zhao Changpeng himself stated on social media that "no felon would mind receiving a pardon," while denying that it was related to business dealings.

Chinese Factors Raise Concerns

It is noteworthy that the Trump family's crypto business is closely linked to entities and individuals with Chinese backgrounds. Reports indicate that PancakeSwap's website was initially registered in Shanghai, and the Telegram group promoting USD1 trading consists mostly of Chinese-speaking users.

Moreover, crypto billionaire Sun Yuchen is one of the largest investors in World Liberty. According to insiders, Eric Trump, the son of President Trump and co-founder of World Liberty, plans to travel to Hong Kong in August to attend a Bitcoin conference and meet with more potential partners.

The company has also recently engaged in exploratory discussions with Hong Kong crypto service provider HashKey regarding investment matters, whose main shareholders are Chinese companies. These business activities sharply contrast with the political rhetoric from the White House