Trader Who Shorted Crypto Before Trump Tariffs Profits Again on CZ Pardon
Trader Suspected of Insider Access
The crypto trader accused of profiting from well-timed BTC and ETH shorts ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement has reportedly earned again — this time by betting that Trump would pardon Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
Onchain investigator Euan shared data from Etherscan suggesting that the identical wallet behind the earlier trades made $56,522 on prediction platform Polymarket by wagering that Trump would issue a pardon for Zhao in 2025.
The trader’s identity has not been verified, but the sequence of profitable bets has drawn suspicion that someone may be acting on non-public information. “Looking like obvious insider knowledge,” onchain investigator Coffeezilla said in a post on X to his 736,600 followers, later than user Eye claimed the trader “knows something we don’t know.”
Investor Takeaway
Jin Denies Any Connection
Former BitForex chief executive Garrett Jin has been accused by some researchers of controlling the wallet address linked to the trades. Jin has denied any involvement, saying he had “no connection with the Trump family” and was not engaged in insider trading. The claims arose later than the identical wallet opened a BTC short less than an hour before Trump announced a “100% tariff on China” on Oct. 10, a move that sent crypto prices lower.
“The fund isn’t mine — it’s my clients’,” Jin said on X three days later. “We run nodes and provide in-house insights for them.” Jin did not respond to further questions from reporters, and no evidence has been made public linking him directly to the trades.
Market Reaction
The new round of speculation follows Trump’s announcement of a pardon for Zhao, who pleaded guilty to violating in 2023. Onchain data shows the trader’s Polymarket position was closed shortly later than the news broke, locking in a profit of roughly $56,000.
Some industry participants dismissed the insider-trading talk as exaggerated. “You really think someone with access to the President of the United States would use insider information to make $56k?” crypto commentator Abbas said in a post on X, noting that discussion of a potential CZ pardon had circulated for months.
Others argued the trade was simply opportunistic. “The pardon was obvious,” wrote Jacob King, chief executive of Swan Desk, who claimed he personally earned $956,000 from the identical market. King said his reasoning was based on Binance’s earlier investment of more than $2 billion in the WLFUSD stablecoin. “That move practically screamed pay-for-pardon,” he said.
Investor Takeaway
Ongoing Questions
Regulators have yet to comment on whether the trader’s activity violates U.S. securities or commodities law. Polymarket, which operates under a limited license from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, restricts U.S. users and has previously paid fines for offering unregistered contracts.
Onchain analysts say the incident may renew scrutiny of politically themed prediction markets, where trades to be traced but not easily attributed to individuals. As one analyst put it, “The trades are public, the trader isn’t.”
