NEWS: Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the crypto exchange Binance, following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family’s own crypto company. w/@jdawsey1 @kowsmann @AABerwick

There's a new front in America's war on drugs. Chinese money brokers are teaming up with Mexican cartels to grease the wheels of the fentanyl trade. Our go at explaining the world of Chinese money laundering. w/ @kowsmann @BrianSpegele https://t.co/olt03tpDvs

Betting on European lenders hasn't worked out well for hedge funds and other big investors—until recently. Now, a small group is sitting on big gains after correctly timing the rally in European bank stocks. My latest with @kowsmann:

The dangerous business of crypto in Africa. https://t.co/4NWdzq2htY via @kowsmann @ceostroff @alexandrawexler

After scandal upon scandal, Christian Sewing pulled Deutsche Bank to firmer ground. But investors aren't fully buying into the comeback story. “My biggest worry now is that people get arrogant again," he tells @kowsmann https://t.co/C9jxr8C4ou via @WSJ

Christian Sewing pulled Deutsche Bank to firmer ground, but investors have yet to fully buy into the comeback story https://t.co/wZEHRtaQmU via @kowsmann

Binance’s guilty plea was a massive twist in the life of Changpeng Zhao, a crypto-industry figurehead who launched the online exchange in 2017 and developed it into a money-spinning trading machine https://t.co/NGar7B3tIf

This Portuguese government had its fair share of drama and scandals. This time, though, it was fatal.

Key risk and legal executives are leaving https://t.co/hQmVxIkqOi at the same time the crypto exchange is under intense pressure from regulators. w/the great @kowsmann and @Vlajournaliste https://t.co/UoN3ud6AL7

NEW: Binance is reevaluating its Russian business, including the possibility of a full withdrawal. w/ @AABerwick

Binance was supposed to leave China behind when the country made cryptocurrency trading illegal in 2021. Yet its users traded $90 billion of crypto-related assets in China in a single month, according to internal figures viewed by @WSJ w/@kowsmann https://t.co/QYIhEjYVeF

Sources say BaFin, the German regulator, believed Binance founder Changpeng Zhao wouldn’t pass a “fit and proper” test, which looks at whether people are professionally and reputably apt to run or own a business it supervises. With @kowsmann and @ceostroff

One of the SEC's allegations against https://t.co/c9iRChzdJ5 last month was of wash trading, a practice outlawed for stocks and bonds nearly a century ago. In crypto, it's alive and well, according to a study. https://t.co/cxUV6WTGtn w/ @ceostroff

Binance slashed its employee benefits last month in the wake of falling profit, a sign of the financial strain hitting the crypto giant. w/@kowsmann Contact info in my bio if any current or former employees want to chat https://t.co/gjCh6qAX35

Over 1,000 Binance employees have been fired in recent weeks, according to a person familiar with the moves. The exercise, which is continuing, could result in Binance losing more than a third of its staff, the person said. via @kowsmann and I https://t.co/RhAgcgpHNb

Binance has lost executives and laid off staffers in recent weeks as the pressure from federal investigations builds https://t.co/ASWsW05OeQ via @WSJ by @kowsmann @davidamichaels @ceostroff & @Vlajournaliste

CZ "has resisted giving up control of the company or stepping aside, though many inside the firm believe his staying could put Binance’s survival into question, one former employee said." And more from @kowsmann @davidamichaels @ceostroff @Vlajournaliste

In reporting this story, RNS deleted some tweets and removed some language from its website. Don't worry, we saved those statements. And you can read them here. w/@kowsmann

The program advertised on Twitter months ago that CZ was a Palau digital resident. CZ said on Monday that he didn’t have Palau residency after the Journal asked about it, and RNS deleted the tweet.

The tiny Pacific island nation of Palau, best known for its diving spots, has launched a “digital residency.” The program has caught the attention of crypto traders searching for side doors to access banned platforms, like Binance. https://t.co/UOzy835914 w/ @ceostroff