US President Donald Trump has said he does not know Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), despite the fact that last month he pardoned the crypto billionaire who pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws. He said this in an interview with 60 Minutes on CBS News.

The interview was Trump’s first major TV appearance since the government shutdown on 1 October 2025, which paralyzed federal agencies. At the same time, his pardon of Changpeng Zhao sparked a lively discussion in the crypto community, as Binance was not only involved in the Department of Justice’s cases but also participated in projects related to companies with business ties to the Trump family.

As a reminder, seven Democratic senators drafted and sent a letter to the DOJ and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding Trump’s decision to pardon CZ. They demanded an investigation into the situation.

When journalist Nora O’Donnell asked about the motives for pardoning Zhao, whose company, according to her, “helped finance the $2 billion purchase of World Liberty Financial, a stablecoin with ties to the Trump family,” the president replied:

“Okay, are you ready? I don’t know who he is. I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that. And I heard it was a Biden witch hunt.”

When the journalist asked if this gave the impression of “pay for play,” Trump replied:

“Well, here’s the thing, I know nothing about it because I’m too busy doing the other.”

Regarding his family’s business in the crypto sphere, the president said:

“My sons are involved in crypto much more than I am. I know very little about it, other than one thing. It’s a huge industry. And if we’re not gonna be the head of it, China, Japan, or someplace else is. So I am behind it 100%.”

It is worth noting that Trump’s cryptocurrency-friendly policy has allowed his family to earn more than $1 billion.

In the same conversation, Trump elaborated on his new trade deal with China and his meeting with President Xi Jinping. He said that the relationship between the two countries is “the best,” despite the difficult periods:

“We have always had a great relationship. He’s a powerful man. He’s a strong man, a very powerful leader. […] Well, I got sort of everything that we wanted. We got no rare earth threat.”

The President added that the new tariffs brought “billions of dollars” to the state budget and became an instrument of national security:

“Tariffs are incredible, because they really give us great national security.”

He also stressed that the US will not allow NVIDIA to sell China the most advanced chips in order not to lose the advantage in the competition for dominance in the field of artificial intelligence (AI):

“And we will let them deal with NVIDIA but not in terms of the most advanced. The most advanced, we will not let anybody have them other than the United States.”

Trump said that by simplifying procedures and creating its own energy generating capacity, the US is leading the race for AI:

“And we are leading the AI race right now by a lot. We are leading it by numbers that people have no idea. […] That’s the new everything all put together. The AI race is a big deal.”

The President also promised that within two years, the US would control 40-50% of the semiconductor market, as the largest manufacturers “are leaving Taiwan and coming into the United States because of tariffs.”

“If they build in our country, make their plant and make their product in our country, then it’s a very simple thing,” Trump said.

Earlier, we wrote that Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan believes Trump’s tariff policy is favorable to bitcoin as a long-term reserve currency.