Trump Opens Door for Crypto’s Offshore Giants

For crypto’s offshore giants these days, there’s nothing more important than figuring out their Trump playbook. Most are succeeding, as President Donald Trump’s pardon of Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao today demonstrated. The pardon of Zhao, who was convicted of violating anti–money-laundering laws and served a four-month sentence last year, could ease Binance’s path to taking on the U.S. market. Other offshore crypto firms, notably Tether and Polymarket, have already overcome obstacles to set up shop in the U.S.

In fact, all these companies have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to move past their checkered regulatory history and expand in the U.S., thanks in large part to the Trump family’s interest in crypto. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has been a key supporter of the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial crypto venture. Tether, the biggest stablecoin issuer, which announced a U.S. launch in September after years of regulatory scrutiny, has partnered with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s old firm, Cantor Fitzgerald. And Polymarket, the largest prediction market, recently got blessings from regulators to return to the U.S. after a regulatory settlement prompted it to ban U.S. users three years ago. Polymarket has added Donald Trump Jr. to its advisory board and received investment from 1789 Capital, a venture capital firm at which Trump Jr. is a partner.