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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe event hosted at Mar-a-Lago blended politics and digital assets, signaling deeper ties between industry and power brokers.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) returned to the United States this week for the first time since his release from a California federal prison in 2024.<\/p>\n
The visit took place at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, where Zhao attended a 500-person convention hosted by the Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial.<\/p>\n
A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report revealed<\/a> that the gathering brought together prominent figures from finance, technology, and entertainment.<\/p>\n Guests included Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, New York Stock Exchange president Lynn Martin, \u201cShark Tank\u201d personality Kevin O\u2019Leary, and Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong, who had also attended a smaller VIP dinner on Tuesday evening alongside Trump\u2019s sons and CZ. Rapper Nicki Minaj, who has publicly supported the Trump administration, also held a \u201cfireside chat\u201d on that day.<\/p>\n Posting on X during the occasion, Zhao shared<\/a> a photo of himself listening to a top federal crypto regulator, writing, \u201cLearned a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n CZ, whose crypto exchange has been barred from operating in the U.S. since 2023 for violating anti-money-laundering rules, pleaded guilty to a related charge that same year. He was then sentenced in April 2024 to four months in prison and officially released in late September after serving his term.<\/p>\n Later in October 2025, the crypto entrepreneur received<\/a> a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump. During a recent interview on the \u201cAll-In\u201d podcast, Zhao said he \u201cdidn\u2019t do anything\u201d to secure the clemency but noted that it could help the exchange resume its efforts to return to the American market.<\/p>\n World Liberty\u2019s leadership used the occasion to lay out its vision for the cryptocurrency industry. CEO Zach Witkoff described the company\u2019s goal as creating a \u201cnew digital Bretton Woods system,\u201d referencing the 1944 conference that established a post-war economic order.<\/p>\n His co-founders, the Trump sons, talked about the scale of the event, with Donald Trump Jr. joking about how much it would have been unimaginable a year ago. Meanwhile, Eric Trump compared it to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying it offered \u201cbetter hospitality, better food, better weather, better group of people, less wokeness.\u201d<\/p>\n The firm also promoted its stablecoin, USD1, and outlined plans to sell digital tokens that would give accredited investors a share of loan revenues from a Trump resort under development in the Maldives.<\/p>\n The president\u2019s sons also addressed<\/a> questions about foreign investment in World Liberty, including a $500 million deal with a senior Abu Dhabi royal, stressing that such moves are standard in global finance and unrelated to government agreements.<\/p>\n Several other Trump administration officials were also in attendance, including Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig and Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg.<\/p>\nYou may also like:<\/h3>\n
World Liberty Unveils Ambitious Crypto Vision<\/h2>\n
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