Informed sources: Binance contacted Trump allies last year to propose a business deal with the Trump family

The two sides began talks last year after Binance approached Trump allies with an offer to strike a business deal with the Trump family as part of a plan to send the exiled company back to the United States, according to people familiar with the matter. Representatives of the Trump family have already been in talks about acquiring a financial stake in the U.S. branch of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, a move that would see Trump do business with the company, which pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money laundering requirements. Meanwhile, according to people familiar with the matter, Binance's founder, CZ, has been urging the Trump administration to pardon him. He was previously sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to a related charge. It is unclear what form the Trump family stake would take if the deal goes through, or whether it would be conditional on a pardon. (WSJ)