Trump Pardons Binance Founder CZ

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Good Morning.

President Donald Trump’s pardon of former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has shaken up the crypto world. The White House framed it as the end of the Biden-era “war on crypto,” calling Zhao a victim of overreach. Supporters see it as a fresh start for the industry, while critics say it blurs the line between innovation and political favoritism.

In Today's Email:

• What Matters: Trump Pardons Binance Founder CZ 👀 

• Founders Highlight: Ophelia Synder & Hany Rashwan of 21Shares 👨 👩 

• Deal Flows: Polymarket & Kalshi Race Toward $15B Valuations 📈 

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WHAT MATTERS

Trump Pardons Binance Founder CZ

State of play: President Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, a move that the White House press secretary framed as a sign of the administration’s support for the crypto industry and a sharp break from the Biden-era enforcement stance.

• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the pardon, calling Zhao a victim of the previous administration’s “war on cryptocurrency.”

• She said there were “no allegations of fraud or victims” in Zhao’s case.

• Zhao thanked Trump on X, pledging to “make America the Capital of Crypto.”

• Binance and its current CEO Richard Teng hailed the pardon as the start of a new era for the industry, focused on rebuilding trust and global access.

• Zhao may now regain influence over Binance despite a previous lifetime management ban.

The decision reignites questions about Trump’s growing links to crypto interests. Earlier reports tied his Trump-backed DeFi project, World Liberty Financial, to talks with Binance, though both sides denied any political dealmaking.

• Critics, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, blasted the move as “corruption in plain sight,” warning it could weaken efforts to regulate the sector.

• Trump dismissed those claims, saying Zhao had “a lot of support” and that “what he did is not even a crime.”

• The pardon boosted crypto markets, with Binance’s BNB up about 5% and Trump-linked WLFI rising more than 15%.

Why it matters: The White House is presenting it as an end to the Biden administration’s “war on crypto,” but it also blurs the line between financial innovation and political favoritism.

Our take: This pardon sets a dangerous precedent. It sends a message that regulatory accountability in crypto can be overridden by political loyalty or influence.

For builders and investors: In the long run, politicizing enforcement could make the environment even less predictable.

BUILDER-INVESTOR HIGHLIGHT

Ophelia Synder & Hany Rashwan of 21Shares

Intro: Ophelia Synder & Hany Rashwan are the Co-Founders of 21Shares, one of the world's first and largest issuers of crypto exchange traded products.

Previous background: Before 21Shares, Ophelia Snyder worked in tech investment banking at UBS and Evercore, and as an analyst at The Westly Group. She holds an MBA from NYU Stern and a B.S. from Stanford.

Before 21Shares, Hany Rashwan founded fintech startups Kout, Ribbon, and Payout, focusing on eCommerce and payments. He holds a B.A. in History from Columbia University.

The big idea: Thorugh 21Shares, Ophelia and Hany aim to make digital asset investing more accessible and transparent.

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INSIGHTS

MegaETH Confirms MiCA Whitepaper

Ethereum Layer 2 project MegaETH has verified its leaked MiCA-compliant whitepaper, outlining plans for a regulated MEGA token sale and a new technical framework.

• The paper confirms a 10B token supply, with 9.5% for the team, 14.7% for investors, and 53.3% for staking rewards.

• EU participants must complete KYC and custody funds with OKCoin Europe, a MiCA-licensed provider.

• MegaETH introduces two key features: a rotating sequencer system that follows global economic time zones and proximity markets, where apps bid for low-latency access by locking MEGA tokens.

DEAL FLOWS

Polymarket & Kalshi Race Toward $15B Valuations

Deal flows slowed down this week - we saw $510M+ in deals 💼 

Crypto-native prediction platform Polymarket is in talks to raise funding at a valuation between $12B and $15B, Bloomberg reported.

• The surge follows rapid growth from a $1.2B valuation in June to $9B earlier this month, driven by a potential $2B investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).

• The platform’s founder, Shayne Coplan, has also confirmed plans to re-enter the US market and hinted at a future POLY token.

• Meanwhile, US-regulated rival Kalshi is fielding offers that could value it at up to $12B, just weeks after raising $300M at a $5B valuation.

Deal flows in the past week:

• Printr, $2M Seed Round

• Nubila Network, $8M Seed Round

• Bluwhale, $10M Series A Round

• Pave Bank, $39M Series A Round

• Tempo, $500M Series A Round

• Rayls, $1.75M Public Token Sale

• Loyal, $2.5M Public Token Sale

• Avici, $3.5M Public Token Sale

• dm.fun, $9M Public Token Sale

• Open Campus, $5M Strategic Round

• Turtle, $5.5M Strategic Round

• Sign, $25.5M Strategic Round

• Lit Protocol, $2M Unknown Round

• Orochi Network, $8M Unknown Round

QUICK BITES

• MegaETH's MiCA whitepaper reveals tokenomics.

• Polymarket eyes fresh funding at up to $15B valuation.

• Trump pardons former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.

• Kalshi fielding investment offers at up to $12B valuation.

• Trump defends pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.

• EU sanctions Russian A7A5 stablecoin and crypto exchanges.

• DeFi perps volume explodes past $1T in record month so far.

• Miner wallet containing 4,000 BTC breaks 14-year dormancy.

• Stable hits $825M pre-deposit cap amid 'front-running' allegations.

• a16z eyes $10B in new funds, leaves crypto behind despite bullish talk.

• Crypto spot trading on CEXs recovers by 31% in Q3 after sharp drop.

• JPMorgan to let institutional clients pledge BTC and ETH as loan collateral.

• UK has ceded crypto hub ground to US amid 'heavy-handed' FCA oversight.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

• Exagroup’s read on Crypto Is Now a Stablecoin Industry

• CBB’s read on How Run the #1 Arbitrage Bot on HyperEVM

• Stablewatch’s thread on Yield Bearing Stablecoin Ecosytem Map

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