Memecoiners At It Again With Gold Statue Of Recently Pardoned Former

Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

Memecoiners have unveiled a 14-foot golden statue of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao outside the U.S. Capitol less than a week after the cryptocurrency billionaire received a pardon from President Donald Trump.

The statue of Zhao holding up four fingers in a nod to his code for ignoring fear, uncertainty and doubt was unveiled during the day on Monday.

Zhao in 2023 pleaded guilty to violating U.S. money laundering laws as CEO of Binance. He agreed to a $50 million fine as part of a plea deal and served a four-month prison sentence for the violations in 2024.

Don’t Miss:

However, one organizer said work on the Zhao statue preceded the pardon. The organizer, who identified himself as Nick Zee, told the cryptocurrency news outlet Decrypt that the initiative began at least four weeks ago. Zee said the project was inspired by “fake attacks” against Zhao and the recent record run of Binance’s native token BNB. According to Zee, the pardon was “like the cherry on the cake.”

Organizers told Decrypt they would either gift the statue to Zhao or sell it, with the proceeds going to Giggle Academy after the display. Zhao launched the free online cryptocurrency education platform for children after he was forced to step down from Binance as part of his 2023 plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Trending: Accredited Investors Can Now Tap Into the $36 Trillion Home Equity Market — Without Buying a Single Property

While organizers say the statue is a tribute to Zhao, it has also helped drive attention to its associated BNB memecoin, CZSTATUE. The token’s market cap briefly touched $2.5 million amid hype around the display on Monday. However, it has since tanked 80% to $150,000, as is typically the case with memecoin projects like this.

Zhao in an X post questioned the accuracy of reports about the project. Benzinga could not immediately reach Zhao for comment.

The Zhao statue stunt follows what may be an emerging trend, as a 12-foot statue of Trump holding a Bitcoin was unveiled outside the U.S. Capitol last month. Like the Zhao statue, the Trump statue was also associated with a memecoin. Organizers behind the Zhao statue told Decrypt that they were not associated with the group behind the Trump statue.