- Changpeng Zhao rejects a golden statue of himself erected near the White House by memecoin creators.
- Zhao warns against buying the associated memecoin token, CZSTATUE, citing concerns about profiteering.
- The CZSTATUE token briefly surged to a $2.5 million market cap before crashing and later stabilizing around $1.7 million.
- The statue was created around the time Zhao was pardoned by former President Donald Trump, who previously had a similar Bitcoin-themed statue placed near the White House.
- Zhao pleaded guilty earlier in 2024 to anti-money laundering program failures and was sentenced to prison, with restrictions on his future work at Binance.
A golden statue of Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao was installed in front of the White House by a group of memecoin creators. The project, which includes a dedicated token called CZSTATUE on the Four Meme platform, was publicly rejected by Zhao, who disavowed any connection to it and advised people not to purchase the token.
The CZSTATUE token spiked to a market capitalization of about $2.5 million when Zhao questioned its legitimacy. Shortly afterward, the token’s value dropped 97% to approximately $73,000 but later recovered to a market cap near $1.7 million. Zhao stated on his social media that he appreciated the gesture but believed the creators’ main intent was to profit from his interaction, adding, “This is something I don’t appreciate. Don’t buy the meme.”
Zhao further explained he would never accept a personal statue and teased that anyone who had one would likely be an egomaniac. He also shared an anecdote about receiving a t-shirt with his face on it, which he did not wear. The project’s anonymous creators claimed on social media they covered the statue’s costs themselves and intended it as a tribute to Zhao, whom they called the “godfather of crypto.”
This statue follows a previous installation near the White House last September, which depicted former President Donald Trump holding a Bitcoin symbol. That statue was also placed by crypto investors aiming to spark dialogue about government-issued currency. Zhao’s statue emerged around the time he was pardoned by Trump last week.
Earlier this year, Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. Binance was fined $4 billion for violating the Bank Secrecy Act and other charges. Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison and is barred from working for Binance for three years. The plea agreement details are available here.
In related developments, the Trump family’s involvement in crypto includes a partnership between Binance’s PancakeSwap platform and Trump’s World Liberty Financial stablecoin USD1. This collaboration facilitated a $2 billion investment from an Abu Dhabi firm in Binance. Reports indicate the Trump family earned more than $800 million through crypto asset sales during the first half of 2025. This relationship underscores the growing influence of crypto leaders in political and financial spheres. Further details can be found in Reuters’ report and the Wall Street Journal article.
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