In a year marked by both explosive growth and dramatic turmoil for the cryptocurrency sector, the Trump family name has become inextricably linked to two of the most high-profile—and controversial—stories in digital assets. As the United States under President Donald Trump pushes forward with ambitious crypto policies, allegations of manipulation, state control, and celebrity-fueled schemes have fueled suspicion and debate from Wall Street to Main Street.
The saga begins with Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and its founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ. According to BeInCrypto, Binance’s meteoric rise began in 2017, when Zhao launched the exchange in China. Within just six months, Binance dominated global trading volumes, offering access to over 400 cryptocurrencies and 1,600 trading pairs by 2025. But rapid growth brought scrutiny: U.S. authorities accused CZ of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and breaching economic sanctions, leading to a guilty plea in 2023, a $50 million fine for Zhao, and a staggering $4.3 billion penalty for Binance. Zhao would serve a four-month prison sentence in 2024, after which he was released but barred from holding any executive position at the company.
Yet, the story took another twist just last week. President Donald Trump issued a pardon for CZ, erasing his felony record and restoring his rights to operate in the United States, a move the White House framed as ending “Biden’s war on crypto.” This decision, while celebrated by some in the crypto community, has raised eyebrows and suspicions among others. Ray Youssef, CEO of peer-to-peer trading platform NoOnes, voiced his concerns in a recent BeInCrypto podcast, suggesting that Binance’s fate is now closely tied to U.S. government interests.
Youssef’s theory is as audacious as it is unsettling. He claims that the U.S. is orchestrating a “controlled demolition of the entire crypto industry,” with Binance at the center. “He served time in America. He served time with Uncle Sam, gave Uncle Sam $4 billion. The first thing that Uncle Sam said was, ‘Hey, you got to not just serve time, give us $4 billion, but you have to put a US compliance monitor in the company. People that know compliance know what that means. That means this guy actually runs Binance. That’s why you’re having the KYC every two weeks on Binance. They run the company. It’s not the Chinese folks. It’s Uncle Sam that runs Binance,” Youssef said.
According to Youssef, the installation of a U.S. compliance monitor at Binance signaled a transfer of control, transforming the exchange into a tool for the American establishment. He alleges that the Trump administration, along with CZ, is now positioned to use Binance as a trigger for a catastrophic market collapse—one that would dwarf the infamous implosion of FTX. “Binance is going to be a state control demolition of the entire industry. Let me say that again. A controlled demolition of the entire industry right before our very eyes,” Youssef warned.
Why would the U.S. want to destroy the industry it helped foster? Youssef argues that it’s all about monetary control. “They want to weaken all the state currencies. They want to usher in their own new global currency. For that to happen, there has to be desperation, poverty, and you know, a lot of instability and chaos. And what better way to do that than by bringing down the entire crypto market with a controlled demolition of the biggest exchange,” he noted.
Youssef’s skepticism extends beyond Binance. He draws parallels to post-9/11 financial reforms, suggesting that every major crypto scandal—whether Mt. Gox, FTX, or potentially Binance—has paved the way for tighter government oversight. Each crisis, he says, brings new regulations like the Travel Rule or the recently enacted GENIUS Act, and further centralizes control. “Before 9/11, you could walk into any Charles Schwab office in New York, put cash on the table, buy any stock without even showing ID. After 911, that changed,” he reflected, warning that a Binance collapse could justify a government crackdown on all centralized exchanges.
Youssef’s solution is radical but clear: abandon centralized exchanges, embrace self-custody, and turn to decentralized platforms. “We are the people. We choose where to put our money, where to use our money, where to spend our money,” he asserted, urging crypto users to resist the pull of centralized giants like Binance and avoid leverage trading altogether.
But the Trump family’s crypto controversies don’t end with Binance. Melania Trump, the former first lady, is now a defendant in a class-action lawsuit over the failed MELANIA token, a cryptocurrency that launched with fanfare in January 2025—just two days after President Trump introduced his own TRUMP cryptocurrency. As reported by Forbes and Wu Blockchain, the MELANIA token initially soared above $13, buoyed by its association with the Trump brand and acceptance on Trump-affiliated websites and the travel platform Travala. Yet, within months, its value collapsed by 96 percent, dropping to around 51 cents by spring and below 10 cents by late October 2025.
The lawsuit, filed by aggrieved investors, accuses Melania Trump and a group of developers of promoting a fraudulent pump-and-dump scheme. Court filings identify Benjamin Chow, founder of crypto startup Meteora, as a central figure who allegedly coordinated the issuance and trading of both MELANIA and another failed token, LIBRA. Plaintiffs claim that, after a brief surge, developers withdrew approximately $30 million in tokens from community funds and quietly sold them off, triggering a cascade of daily price drops of up to 10 percent. Blockchain analysts traced the movement of 50 million tokens to a single wallet, which then distributed funds across various addresses and exchanges. Chow, who left Meteora in February 2025, has not responded to the allegations, but plaintiffs say they have evidence—including Telegram chats and wallet analysis—linking him to the scheme.
The fallout has been severe: MELANIA now trades for pennies, its credibility in tatters. The development team has gone silent, and the outcome of the lawsuit remains uncertain. Yet, for many, the episode stands as a stark warning about the dangers of celebrity-endorsed cryptocurrencies and the risks of investing in hype-driven digital assets without thorough due diligence. As Forbes noted, even a fleeting mention in ETF filing documents failed to revive interest or stabilize the token’s decline.
As the legal battles rage and the crypto industry braces for what some fear could be its most disruptive collapse yet, one thing is clear: the intersection of politics, celebrity, and digital finance has created a combustible mix. Whether the U.S. is truly plotting a controlled demolition, as Youssef contends, or whether these are the growing pains of a maturing sector, the coming months will test the resilience—and the independence—of the cryptocurrency world like never before.
For now, investors and observers alike are left to ponder the future: Will crypto remain a tool for individual empowerment, or will it become just another lever of state and corporate power? The answer may depend on how the industry—and its users—respond to the mounting challenges ahead.
