CZ said Binance holding 87% of USD1 reflects user demand, arguing the exchange dominates most major stablecoins.
Binance users hold about 87% of USD1, the Trump-linked stablecoin, according to a Forbes report published on February 9, 2026, putting most of the token’s circulating supply on a single exchange.
The concentration has drawn criticism online, but Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao says the figures reflect user demand across stablecoins rather than special treatment tied to politics.
Exchange Dominance Draws Focus
The Forbes report found that Binance controls roughly $4.7 billion of the $5.4 billion USD1 supply, based on Arkham Intelligence data. That is a higher share than any single exchange holds of other top-10 stablecoins, with Forbes noting that the holdings include both Binance-controlled wallets and customer balances, though it remains unclear how much belongs to the exchange itself.
World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture backed by several members of President Donald Trump’s family, launched the token in March 2025, with CZ among the first to publicly share the news.
Trump is also listed as co-founder emeritus, and several entities affiliated with him are entitled to a large share of proceeds from the project’s governance token, WLFI.
The custody concentration drew criticism from independent researcher Molly White, who told Forbes it creates “theoretical risk” if assets become tied up in legal or operational disputes. Corey Frayer, a former adviser to the SEC chair, went further, questioning whether USD1 was designed to function as a broad stablecoin at all.
However, Zhao responded on social media, writing,
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“Binance (users) hold the largest % of most stablecoins (USDT, USDC, USD1, U … you name it) compared to all other CEXs. Not news.”
The backlash around the token sits within wider scrutiny of Zhao and Binance. The former CEO received a presidential pardon in October 2025 after pleading guilty in 2023 to compliance failures tied to anti-money laundering controls.
His attorney said in a November 2025 interview that the case was regulatory in nature and rejected claims of political favors.
A Pattern of FUD and Market Reality
The discussion is also happening amid what CZ and Binance executives are describing as a coordinated campaign of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD).
Earlier in the month, Zhao exposed a fake social media account with 863,000 followers that used AI-generated images of him to first pose as a supporter and then spread negative sentiment. Furthermore, a separate AI analysis report alleged a “deliberately organized and coordinated smear campaign” against the exchange.
Market data suggests Binance’s dominance extends far beyond one stablecoin, especially considering that a CryptoQuant report from January showed Binance captured 41% of spot trading volume and 42% of Bitcoin perpetual futures volume among top exchanges in 2025.
According to the report, the exchange also held 72% of the combined USDT and USDC reserves on major platforms, a context that supports Zhao’s argument that large user holdings on the exchange are typical.
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