TLDR
- Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao denied claims he agreed to testify against TRON founder Justin Sun as part of his US plea deal.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that CZ agreed to provide evidence against Sun, citing unnamed sources.
- CZ suggested someone paid WSJ to lead a smear campaign against him.
- Justin Sun stated he was “not aware” of these rumors and called CZ “both my mentor and a close friend.”
- Sun emphasized that the DOJ is a trusted partner of T3 Financial Crime Unit, which TRON co-founded with Tether and TRM Labs.
Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has firmly denied allegations that he agreed to provide evidence against TRON founder Justin Sun as part of his settlement with the United States Department of Justice.
The claims first appeared in an April 11 Wall Street Journal report. Citing unnamed sources, the WSJ stated that CZ had agreed to testify against Sun as part of his plea deal with US authorities.
Interesting nugget in the WSJ story that Binance is seeking to get Treasury to remove the monitor appointed to oversee them
They report that as part of CZ’s plea deal, he agreed to give evidence on Justin Sun pic.twitter.com/53z05J9M7O
— db (@tier10k) April 12, 2025
CZ quickly took to social media platform X to refute these claims. “WSJ is really TRYING here,” he wrote, downplaying the report’s accuracy.
In his response, CZ argued that if he had indeed become a government witness against Sun, he would not have served any jail time. He also claimed the report was part of a paid smear campaign.
The Background Story
CZ was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 after pleading guilty to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations during his time as Binance CEO. He was released from US federal prison in September 2024.
In a response to BlockTower Capital founder Ari Paul, CZ clarified the nature of the charges against him. “To be clear, there were NO ‘money laundering’ or ‘fraud’ charges. You are confusing ‘ANTI-money laundering’ to ‘money laundering’,” he explained.
CZ further distinguished that one charge involves a failure to prevent or police money laundering, while the other would mean actually engaging in money laundering. “Two very different things,” he emphasized.
The former Binance CEO seemed to have anticipated the WSJ report. In an April 11 post on X, he had already warned his followers that the “WSJ is writing another baseless hit piece.”
Sun’s Response to Allegations
Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, also responded to the WSJ allegations. In a post on X, Sun stated that he was “not aware of the circulating rumors.”
They always try to use rumors to drive us apart, to divide us instead of unite us. Crypto is already a small space—only by standing together can we change everything! We need every single one of your votes!
— H.E. Justin Sun 🍌 (@justinsuntron) April 12, 2025
Sun described CZ as “both my mentor and a close friend.” He credited CZ with playing “a crucial role in supporting me during my entrepreneurial journey.”
The TRON founder also highlighted his relationship with US authorities. He mentioned that the Department of Justice is “one of the closest and most trusted partners” of T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU).
T3 FCU is a blockchain security initiative co-founded by TRON, Tether, and TRM Labs. Sun emphasized that he maintains “direct, honest communication” with both CZ and the DOJ.
“To this day, his conduct and principles remain the highest standard I strive to follow as a founder,” Sun wrote about CZ. He added: “I have full trust in each and every one of them.”
Legal Developments
With a reported net worth of approximately $60 billion at the time of his incarceration, CZ is considered the wealthiest person ever to serve a prison sentence in the United States.
Since his release, CZ has been involved in various endeavors both within and outside the cryptocurrency industry. The exact nature of these activities was not detailed in the reports.
Meanwhile, Sun has his own ongoing legal matters. On February 26, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Sun asked a federal court to pause the regulator’s case against the crypto entrepreneur to allow for settlement talks.
This request came after the SEC sued Sun and three of his companies in March 2023. The lawsuit targeted the entity behind Tron, the Tron Foundation, and the file-sharing platform backers the BitTorrent Foundation and its San Francisco-based parent firm, Rainberry Inc.
The recent exchange between CZ and Sun highlights the close relationships that exist between major figures in the cryptocurrency space, even amid legal challenges.
As the situation continues to develop, the crypto community watches closely for any official statements from the Department of Justice regarding the alleged plea deal terms.
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