The founders of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and Binance have issued strong denials following a Wall Street Journal report that alleged close coordination between the two entities to promote the Trump-linked DeFi platform abroad.
The article claimed Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) may have helped WLFI co-founders Zak Folkman and Zach Witkoff establish connections in regions like Pakistan, Abu Dhabi, and Kyrgyzstan—suggesting Zhao played a behind-the-scenes “facilitator” role for the politically charged crypto project.
Folkman swiftly responded via WLFI’s official X account, calling the allegations both false and absurd.
“The suggestion that CZ acted as a ‘facilitator’ or ‘fixer’ for Zach Witkoff or WLFI is not only false, it’s laughable,” Folkman wrote.
Zhao, often referred to as CZ, has also distanced himself from the claims. A Binance spokesperson reiterated that while Zhao has long been a driver of global crypto innovation, the company has no direct involvement in WLFI.
“Zhao and Zach Witkoff are friends,” a WLFI spokesperson acknowledged, “but Zhao doesn’t act as a fixer.”
The WSJ article cited unnamed sources and offered limited detail about Zhao’s alleged involvement. Still, the timing and political overtones of the report have stirred controversy, especially as WLFI gains visibility for its association with former President Donald Trump and his sons.
Both organizations maintain that the claims misrepresent personal relationships and overstate business interactions, calling the article a misguided attempt to conflate proximity with partnership.
Kosta Gushterov
Reporter at Coindoo
Kosta has been a part of the team since 2021 and has solidified his position with a thirst for knowledge, incredible dedication to his work and a “detective-like” mindset. He not only covers a wide range of trending topics, he also creates reviews, PR articles and educational content. His work has also been referenced by other news outlets.
Source: https://coindoo.com/wlfi-denies-wsj-report-linking-them-in-trump-backed-defi-project/