CZ’s Statue Fuels Debate On Crypto’s Political Influence

This Tuesday, a 4.27-meter golden statue depicting Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, briefly took its place in front of the Capitol in Washington. This spectacular installation comes a few days after the presidential pardon granted by Donald Trump to CZ, convicted in 2023 for violations of anti-money laundering laws. In a climate where crypto figures are increasingly occupying public space, this unexpected tribute marks a symbolic turning point between justice, political power, and the cult of blockchain innovation.

A Golden Statue in Front of the Capitol: Between Tribute and Provocation

The American capital hosted this Tuesday a monumental work in honor of Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, shortly after his presidential pardon.

“CZ is an icon. He is a pioneer.” These are the words Nick Zee, one of the project initiators, used to summarize the motivation behind installing a giant statue representing Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder of Binance.

Exhibited for just a few hours in front of the Capitol in Washington D.C., the work measures approximately 4.27 meters and shows CZ sporting his iconic gesture: four fingers raised, referencing his anti-FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) motto launched in 2023.

The goal is to symbolically mark CZ’s return to the public space, a few days after receiving a presidential pardon from Donald Trump.

The statue was designed with a precise sense of staging and distinct aesthetics. Here is what is known about the background of the project:

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  Funding: $50,000 raised by an anonymous collective of four people;
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  Manufacturing: about four weeks of production using a CNC machine, which carved the statue from dense foam blocks;
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  Painting: gold finish, but not solid gold;
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  Destination: the work could be offered to CZ or auctioned off for the benefit of Giggle Academy, an educational NGO founded by CZ after his conviction;
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  Context: the installation echoes a golden statue of Trump holding a bitcoin, displayed at the same place the previous month.

Presented as a tribute by its creators, this statue prompts questions about its real significance. Between a community initiative, a crypto communication act, and a political wink, it deliberately blurs lines, a now familiar tactic in the Web3 ecosystem, where the boundary between personality cult and visibility strategy becomes increasingly fine.

A Presidential Pardon and Increasing Political Tensions

The timing chosen to display the statue is not accidental. It comes immediately after the pardon granted by Donald Trump to Changpeng Zhao, just months after his conviction for violating US laws concerning anti-money laundering.

The founder of Binance had pleaded guilty and agreed to pay, along with his company, a record fine of $4.3 billion as part of an agreement with US authorities. “The pardon is the cherry on the cake,” said Nick Zee, stressing that the symbolic action also aimed to respond to the false attacks targeting CZ. While some in the crypto sphere welcomed this judicial turnaround, other voices have risen to denounce what looks like special treatment.

This is notably the case of Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, known for her critical stance on cryptos. In a statement, she denounced a troubling political sequence: “first, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of money laundering. Then, he supported one of Donald Trump’s crypto projects. Today, Donald Trump pardoned him.”

This context raises questions about power dynamics between major crypto platforms, political figures, and regulatory mechanisms. While CZ’s statue may appear as a community tribute similar to that of Trump holding a bitcoin, it also reveals the existence of concerted image repositioning strategies. The episode illustrates the growing desire among some industry players to make crypto a financial alternative but also a lever of political influence.