Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, the United States has taken bold steps to advance crypto adoption in 2025, from passing the GENIUS Act to ramping up efforts to regulate the digital asset industry. The efforts align with Trump’s promise to make the nation the “crypto capital of the world.”
But is this genuine progress, or is something else unfolding behind the scenes? Ray Youssef, CEO of the P2P trading platform NoOnes, believes it’s the latter. In a recent BeInCrypto podcast episode, he claimed the US is preparing a “controlled demolition of the entire crypto industry” and Binance could play a key role in it.
Binance’s Journey: Growth, Legal Battles, and a Presidential Pardon
Binance was founded by Changpeng Zhao (CZ) in 2017 in China. The company later relocated its operations due to the country’s tightening regulations on digital assets.
In just 6 months, Binance became the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume, a position it continues to hold. CoinGecko data showed that the exchange offers access to more than 400 cryptocurrencies and 1,600 trading pairs.
Sponsored
Sponsored
Nonetheless, Binance’s growth has been accompanied by regulatory challenges. Authorities in the US accused the founder of violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement an effective anti-money-laundering (AML) program and breaching economic sanctions.
In 2023, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty, agreeing to pay a $50 million fine. At the same time, Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion, one of the largest corporate penalties ever imposed. In addition, CZ also served a 4-month prison sentence in 2024.
Zhao was released in mid-2024 and remained outside the United States, barred from holding any executive position at Binance. A US compliance monitor was installed inside the exchange, a move that symbolized a transfer of control for Youssef.
Furthermore, last week, President Trump pardoned CZ, erasing his felony record and restoring his rights to operate in the country. The White House framed the decision as ending “Biden’s war on crypto.” Still, it raises questions about a deeper connection between Binance and the US establishment.
The “Controlled Demolition” Theory
For Youssef, Binance’s link with the United States is not a sign of progress but a warning. He claims the exchange has become a controlled asset that will eventually be used to trigger a market collapse.
Interestingly, the entrepreneur pointed out that the playbook isn’t new. In his words, FTX was supposed to serve that role first, a state-sponsored collapse.
Sponsored
Sponsored
The executive emphasized that FTX’s implosion happened ahead of schedule, forcing the state to look elsewhere. In his view, Binance’s downfall will be the next contingency, carefully timed to cause maximum impact, a crash severe enough to destroy trust across the entire sector.
He also forecasted that the collapse of Binance would be a thousand times worse than FTX. According to him,
Why the US Would Want The Crypto Market to Fall
Why would the US want to destroy the very industry it helped nurture? The answer may lie in the control of the monetary system.
Every government’s power depends on its ability to control currency circulation. Cryptocurrencies, borderless, programmable, and outside traditional banking, threaten that control.
Sponsored
Sponsored
Youssef stressed that the US is not simply trying to regulate this new system; it’s trying to own it. By embedding itself within Binance, the world’s largest exchange, Washington can steer global liquidity, monitor user flows, and influence price discovery.
What was once designed as an independent, user-powered market becomes a state-guided infrastructure.
Can The Crypto Market Survive Another Collapse?
Nonetheless, even if Binance were to fall, it won’t be the first time the sector has faced a setback. The crypto market has endured the collapse of Mt. Gox, ICO busts, and countless rug pulls. Each time, it emerged stronger, more decentralized, and more aware of its core mission.
Still, Youssef warned that this time could be different. He described the current situation as a long-term game of control, not a short-term regulatory crackdown. The NoOnes CEO compared it to the sweeping financial changes that followed 9/11, when governments used crises to justify tighter monitoring.
According to Youssef, the same logic applies to crypto. Each major scandal, from Mt. Gox to FTX, has led to new laws such as the Travel Rule, the GENIUS Act, and Operation Chokepoint initiatives. The next big collapse of Binance, he warns, could give regulators the excuse to lock down the entire industry.
Sponsored
Sponsored
He foresees a split world: centralized exchanges “going with the man,” and only a handful of decentralized platforms left to operate freely until they, too, are forced to comply. Youssef pointed out that even DEXs are not fully independent, since they still follow sanction lists and blacklists.
Beyond Binance: The Real War
Ultimately, the war Youssef describes isn’t just about one company or country. It’s a philosophical conflict between centralized authority and decentralized freedom. He warns that if the industry keeps depending on centralized players, it will eventually lose the very independence it was built to protect.
He urges users to:
- Withdraw funds from centralized exchanges.
- Adopt self-custody and decentralized platforms.
- Abandon leverage trading.
For him, the solution isn’t waiting for regulators or justice but collective responsibility.
Whether or not Youssef’s theory proves true, his warning captures the tension at crypto’s heart: an innovation born to escape control now risks becoming its instrument. Perhaps the real question isn’t why the US wants to destroy crypto, but whether crypto will let itself be destroyed.
Source: https://beincrypto.com/binance-trump-and-the-controlled-demolition-of-crypto/
