President Donald Trump’s threats about Greenland may have been the main focus at the world’s glitziest economic conference, but crypto was not far behind. Trump boasted about American dominance in the sector, and other major crypto figures, like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Binance founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, made public appearances at Davos.
In his speech on Wednesday, Trump boasted about his role in making America the world’s marquee player in crypto. “I’m also working to ensure America remains the crypto capital of the world.”
Armstrong, meanwhile, made headlines while clashing with Bank of France governor François Villeroy de Galhau over stablecoin yields on a Davos panel titled “Is Tokenization the Future?”. Armstrong contrasted stablecoins, which are fully backed by reserves, with bank deposits that are lent out under a fractional reserve system, adding that tokens like USDC allow customers to earn higher interest on their digital dollars. Villeroy de Galhau, for his part, portrayed interest-bearing private tokens as a fundamental threat to the banking system.
As for Zhao, his Davos turn was decidedly more colorful as the former Binance CEO, described serving four months in prison for failing to implement proper money laundering controls—a charge for which he was later pardoned by Trump. Most notably, he described in crude terms the process of guards strip-searching him for contraband.
The Wall Street Journal reported Binance’s ties to Trump’s crypto ventures preceding his release from jail. When asked about his involvement with the president, Zhao told Ross Sorkin, “There’s no business relationship whatsoever.”
Despite his checkered history in the industry, Zhao has continued his work in crypto. He said in a panel that he is in talks with ‘probably a dozen’ governments about asset tokenization.
At Davos, Trump also expressed optimism about critical crypto legislation known as the Clarity Act that has recently become stalled. “Congress is working very hard on crypto market structure legislation, which I hope to sign very soon,” he said.