In 298 BC, Lord Pingyuan of Zhao had three thousand retainers. Among them, Mao Sui alone could eloquently debate the entire court of Chu, winning a chance of survival for Zhao.
More than two thousand years later, on September 1, 2025, a token named WLFI was listed on global exchanges. A Chinese capital network spanning the Pacific is bolstering the digital empire of the US President's family.
Behind this project valued at $40 billion stands a group of modern-day "retainers." They include a Chinese billionaire who invested $75 million, a founder of an exchange seeking a presidential pardon, a stablecoin expert deeply entrenched in the Asian market, and an Eastern force described as capable of "skyrocketing the Trump family's wealth or wiping it out overnight if they cross the line."
As the wealth of an American political dynasty becomes deeply intertwined with Eastern capital, and as China influences the global crypto landscape through the Hong Kong market, a new geopolitical game is unfolding.
Binance, The Central Node of the Chinese Network
To understand the influence of the Chinese in the WLFI project, one must start with Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Founded by Chinese individuals, this platform has become the nerve center of the entire Chinese crypto network.
Binance handles approximately 30% of global cryptocurrency trading volume, with a daily average turnover exceeding $20 billion. Its penetration rate in the Asian market exceeds 60%, meaning most capital flows pass through its systems. This level of control gives Binance a near-monopolistic position within the Chinese network.
Binance's founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), was sentenced to four months in prison for violating anti-money laundering regulations. According to informed sources, CZ is seeking a pardon from Trump through various channels. This rumor is not without basis. During his first term, Trump showed leniency to several individuals convicted of financial crimes, including his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort. For CZ, while a 4-month sentence might seem short, for a business empire controlling hundreds of billions of dollars in assets, the founder's freedom is crucial to the stability of the entire system.
On March 13, 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump family was negotiating to acquire a significant stake in Binance.US, which CZ strongly denied. Subsequently, Bloomberg also reported, citing four anonymous sources familiar with the matter whom they found very credible, that the two parties were collaborating to launch a stablecoin, which we now see as USD1.
Despite strong denials from both sides, the interactions between USD1 and Binance reflect a close relationship between the two.
At the end of April, the official social media accounts of WLFI and CZ posted photos of WLFI's three co-founders meeting with CZ in Abu Dhabi, stating they discussed how to expand global adoption, set new standards, and push cryptocurrency to new levels.
In early May, Eric Trump, the former president's second son, revealed during the Token2049 event that the Abu Dhabi investment company MGX had invested $2 billion in Binance, paid in the USD1 stablecoin. Conventionally, these funds should have been quickly converted to US dollars, but Binance kept $1.9 billion in its own addresses, instantly becoming the largest holder of USD1, accounting for 92.8% of the total circulating supply.
This move directly inflated USD1's market capitalization from $130 million to $2.1 billion. Excluding these funds, USD1's actual circulating supply is only around $100 million. This superficially inflated data became a key support for WLFI's $40 billion valuation. Such "inflation" tactics could constitute market manipulation in traditional finance but have become common practice in the less regulated crypto space.
In the same month, WLFI officially posted on X (Twitter), openly endorsing the Binance BNB Chain ecosystem's cultural mascot Meme coin $B (BUILDon), and purchased approximately $25,000 worth of $B. The news caused an uproar in the market, sending the token's price soaring, with its market cap once exceeding $300 million.
WLFI's public endorsement of $B is more than just a small investment. For Binance, Meme coins are both amplifiers of community sentiment and natural entry points for traffic. The attention generated by hyping $B quickly fed back into the narrative of USD1. It was no longer just a newly launched stablecoin but was packaged into a grand story of "ecological expansion" and "community co-building."
Within this system, Binance is using familiar tactics to tie the promotion of its stablecoin to the frenzy of the Meme market, first attracting attention with Meme coins and then embedding USD1 into the mix as a "base currency." Hype has become a strategy, and buzz a tool for market education. Consequently, the ecological promotion of USD1 gained far more visibility in a short time than its actual size would warrant.
The Gathering of Chinese Retainers
Beyond the core of Binance, a group of technical projects has gathered. Their cooperation with WLFI has tightened the connections within the entire ecosystem. These seemingly independent companies collectively weave a sophisticated Chinese capital network.
Ryan Fang: The sole Chinese member in the current team, Binance's most trusted project operator.
Within WLFI's Chinese technical network, Ryan Fang holds a significant position and is also the only Chinese member in the current team. Meanwhile, Ankr is widely recognized in the industry as being "close to Binance." Besides operating BSC nodes and providing liquid staking services, well-known BSC (now BNB Chain) ecosystem projects like BounceBit, Auction, and Neura were all created by the Ankr team.
Ryan is the co-founder and COO of Ankr and was also involved in creating PrimeBlock and Tomo. He previously worked at Morgan Stanley and later entered the private equity industry, accumulating experience in traditional finance. This background allowed him to quickly understand how to combine capital and technology in the blockchain world.
As a leading global blockchain infrastructure provider, Ankr offers RPC nodes and cross-chain tools for various projects, including the Binance BSC chain. The circulation of USD1 relies on these nodes for transaction confirmation and network stability. Through Ankr's cross-chain services, USD1 can be freely transferred across multiple chains like Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Polygon.
Within WLFI, Ankr plays another role. Its Liquid Staking product allows USD1 to be staked to generate yield, transforming the token from a mere payment tool into an asset with financial attributes. While users gain returns, they also contribute liquidity to the entire ecosystem. Ankr has served over 8,000 blockchain projects, and these existing client relationships form natural channels for USD1's expansion. To enter new application scenarios, the stablecoin can be distributed through Ankr's network.
As a modern-day "retainer," Ryan Fang, through infrastructure, embeds a newly issued stablecoin into the daily operations of the global crypto market.
Rich Teo: Overseeing the Stablecoin 'Foxconn Factory'
The figure of Paxos co-founder Richmond Teo (also known as Zhang Qianhao) is also present in the WLFI project.
Paxos was once Binance's most important stablecoin partner. Its issued BUSD long served as Binance's primary stablecoin, with its market cap once exceeding $20 billion. During 2022, Paxos became one of the world's leading stablecoin issuance and technology providers. Its co-founder, Rich Teo, had good personal relations with Binance CEO CZ, which once sparked significant rumors within the crypto community, leading CZ to rarely post a clarification on his social media (WeChat Moments).
By 2023, US regulators ordered Paxos to stop issuing BUSD. The company suddenly fell from grace and entered a prolonged period of silence. The industry widely believed Paxos had lost its competitiveness. However, with the advancement of US stablecoin legislation, Paxos has again become one of the teams benefiting from regulatory developments, with stablecoins like PayPal's PYUSD and DBS Bank's USDG being issued by Paxos.
Teo was responsible for Asian market business at Paxos and is very familiar with the compliance paths for stablecoins under different regulatory systems. The halt of BUSD was a heavy blow to him but also forced him to accumulate experience in dealing with regulators and market contractions. This experience is particularly important for WLFI, as the issuance and circulation of USD1 also face regulatory uncertainties.
Teo's appearance signifies not just a personal return but also Paxos's attempt to find a way back into the stablecoin race through WLFI. This relationship makes USD1 more easily accepted in the market and adds a layer of assurance to Binance's trust in WLFI. For the entire Chinese network, Teo's inclusion means a crucial piece has been added back in terms of compliance and regulation.
