Binance Fires Back at Senate Inquiry, Calls Media Allegations False and Defamatory

TLDR:

• Binance processed over 71,000 law enforcement requests in 2025, helping seize $752 million in illicit assets worldwide.
• Exposure to illicit wallets on Binance dropped nearly 97% between January 2024 and July 2025, per blockchain analytics data.
• Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust were offboarded following proactive internal investigations, not media pressure or regulatory orders.
• Binance denied WSJ claims of 2,000 Iranian-linked accounts, linking the allegation to its ongoing VPN circumvention detection efforts.
  

Binance has formally responded to a February 24, 2026 letter from U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

The exchange giant directly challenged allegations drawn from recent media reports by the New York Times, Fortune, and the Wall Street Journal.

In its response, the company defended its compliance program, disputed claims about Iranian user accounts, and addressed the treatment of former employees. The letter was published publicly on March 6, 2026.

Compliance Record and Enforcement Cooperation

The company stated that it has invested hundreds of millions of dollars building its compliance infrastructure. Over 1,500 specialists currently work across sanctions, counter-terrorism financing, and financial crime investigations.

Binance also deploys more than 25 advanced monitoring tools for transaction screening and behavioral analytics.

In 2025, the exchange processed more than 71,000 law enforcement requests globally. Over the past three years, it also assisted in seizing more than $752 million in illicit assets, with nearly $579 million recovered for U.S. agencies. These figures reflect a broad commitment to supporting law enforcement operations worldwide.

Richard Teng, Binance’s CEO, addressed the matter publicly on social media. He wrote, “We’ve voluntarily responded to Senator Blumenthal’s inquiry which raises false and defamatory allegations reported by the WSJ.” He further noted that the company’s response was meant to protect its more than 300 million users.

Additionally, blockchain analytics data showed that Binance’s exposure to illicit wallets dropped from 0.284% to just 0.009% of total exchange volume between January 2024 and July 2025.

That represents a decrease of nearly 97% over the period. Exposure to major Iranian crypto exchanges also fell by 97.3% in two years, from $4.19 million to $110,000.

The response also referenced the T3 Financial Crime Unit, which froze over $300 million in its first year of operation alone. This network operates in real time and acts before tainted funds can move further in the system.

Hexa Whale, Blessed Trust, and Employee Matters

Regarding the two entities named in the Senator’s letter, Binance clarified that both investigations began following law enforcement inquiries.

In April 2025, law enforcement flagged wallet addresses with potential terrorist financing ties. Binance then launched a comprehensive internal review that went beyond the original request. Hexa Whale was subsequently offboarded on August 13, 2025.

Similarly, the Blessed Trust investigation began in summer 2025 after a separate law enforcement request. After a thorough source of funds analysis, Binance offboarded the entity in January 2026. The company stated that no Binance account had transacted directly with an Iran-based entity in either case.

On the Iranian account allegation, the company was direct. The WSJ claim that Binance identified 2,000 Iranian-linked accounts was described as false.

The company suspects the claim relates to its ongoing efforts to detect VPN circumvention rather than any confirmed Iranian user base. All users must complete mandatory identity verification to use the platform.

On employee matters, the company confirmed that some compliance staff had recently left. Most departures were voluntary resignations.

One employee was terminated for leaking internal user data, not for raising compliance concerns. The company stated clearly that no workers were dismissed for escalating issues internally.

Binance closed its response by affirming its continued commitment to compliance improvements, law enforcement cooperation, and user protection across the global crypto ecosystem.

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