CZ doesn’t like memecoiners worshipping a golden idol of him
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao has moved to distance himself from a Donald Trump-esque golden statue of himself that has been erected in front of the White House by a group of memecoin creators.
The recently pardoned crypto exec disavowed the project — which, predictably, comes with it’s own token on Four Meme called CZSTATUE — after its creators offered to ship him the statue. He also advised users against buying the token.
Zhao said, “While I want to appreciate the gesture, the fact that there is a memecoin associated with this means the creator probably just wanted to make a quick buck off an interaction from me.
“This is something I don’t appreciate. Don’t buy the meme.”
Zhao added that he’d never accept a statue of himself, and that someone would have to be an “egomaniac” to have such a statue in their home.
“Someone once give me a t-shirt with my face on it, thinking I would wear it. Again, who’d have an ego to wear a shirt with their own face on it?”
Read more: With fresh pardon, CZ owns Donald Trump
The project’s anonymous creators say they’re giving back to the “godfather of crypto.” In response to Zhao, the project’s X account claimed it hasn’t earned any fees, and instead “paid out of pocket for the statue.”
The token pumped to a market cap of $2.5 million when Zhao questioned if it was real, but crashed 97% minutes later to a low of $73,000.
However, its market cap has since bounced back to $5 million and currently sits at $1.7 million.
CZ gets a golden statue just like Trump
Another faux golden statue depicting the egomaniac President Trump holding Bitcoin’s symbol was placed near the White House last September.
This was done by another group of crypto investors, who claimed they wanted to “ignite conversation about the future of government-issued currency.”
Zhao’s statue was made around the same time Zhao was pardoned by Trump last week.
In 2024, Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and Binance was made to pay $4 billion for violating the Bank Secrecy Act, among other charges.
He was sentenced to four months in prison and forbidden from working for Binance for three years.
Read more: ANALYSIS: Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are cashing in on crypto
Earlier this year, Trump’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI) stablecoin USD1 was used to facilitate an Abu Dhabi firm’s $2 billion investment in Binance. The Wall Street Journal reported in August that a partnership between Binance’s quietly administered PancakeSwap and WLFI has helped the Trump family accrue billions of dollars.
A recent Reuters report found the Trump family had made over $800 million in the first half of 2025 alone through the selling of crypto assets.
It highlights Trump’s relationship with the crypto industry and the purchasing power crypto execs potentially hold over the administration.
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