Binance has issued a proper rebuttal to U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, pushing again in opposition to what the cryptocurrency alternate describes as false and defamatory claims in latest media studies that prompted a Congressional investigation into its sanctions compliance program.
letterThe doc, issued March 6 and copied to rating members of the Senate Everlasting Subcommittee on Investigations and Chairman Ron Johnson, responds to Blumenthal’s Feb. 24 communication.
The investigation was largely primarily based on studies printed earlier this 12 months by the New York Occasions, Fortune and the Wall Avenue Journal, which raised questions in regards to the alternate’s publicity to Iranian corporations and its inner dealing with of compliance issues.
Binance’s authorized representatives declare that the corporate maintains strict know-your-customer protocols and explicitly prohibits customers who reside in or reside in Iran from accessing its platform.
The alternate acknowledged that two of the entities talked about in Sen. Blumenthal’s letter, together with Hexa Whale and Blessed Belief, had been not directly concerned in pockets addresses with potential ties to Iran, however pressured that neither had any direct transactions with Iranian-based entities.
“Binance has a rigorous compliance program that’s persistently strengthened,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement, including that when dependable threat info involves gentle, it investigates, mitigates the chance, deletes accounts, and studies findings to the suitable authorities.
The alternate detailed its investigation schedule for each reported entities. A regulation enforcement investigation in April 2025 led to a complete inner investigation and Hexa Whale was faraway from the platform in August 2025.
A separate investigation prompted by a regulation enforcement request in the summertime of 2025 led to Blessed Belief’s offboarding in January 2026. Binance emphasised that investigators proceed to research potential dangers after fulfilling the preliminary request for info from authorities.
Binance has disclosed vital investments in its compliance infrastructure, claiming that spending in recent times is within the lots of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}.
The alternate presently employs greater than 1,500 compliance professionals worldwide, together with consultants in sanctions enforcement, counter-terrorist financing, and monetary crimes investigations. The corporate has applied over 25 third-party instruments for buyer due diligence and transaction monitoring.
Operational metrics listed within the letter present that Binance processed greater than 71,000 regulation enforcement requests throughout 2025.
Over the previous three years, the alternate has helped authorities businesses seize greater than $752 million in belongings, of which almost $579 million was recovered by U.S. authorities.
In line with the evaluation knowledge, publicity to wallets allegedly concerned in unlawful actions decreased by about 97%, from about 0.3% of complete transaction quantity in January 2024 to simply 0.009% by July 2025.
Moreover, Iran’s publicity to 4 main cryptocurrency exchanges has declined by 97% in two years, from greater than $4 million to $110,000.
This rebuttal immediately challenged the Wall Avenue Journal’s declare that Binance’s compliance group had recognized 2,000 accounts related to Iranian entities on its platform.
Binance referred to as this declare false and urged that the numbers could also be associated to its ongoing efforts to tighten controls over the usage of its digital non-public community, relatively than any resolution concerning account holders in Iran.
The alternate famous that id verification stays necessary for all clients and that the usage of VPNs to bypass eligibility necessities violates its phrases of service.
Personnel points additionally drew consideration within the solutions.
The corporate acknowledges that some compliance officers and contractors have just lately left the corporate, however denies that the layoffs are as a result of rising compliance issues.
The corporate mentioned an worker was fired following an inner investigation that exposed unauthorized disclosure of inner person info, characterizing it as a violation of its person privateness coverage relatively than retaliation.
Binance’s rebuttal comes amid mounting regulatory stress on giant crypto platforms. The alternate’s resolution to publish its response to Congress demonstrates a dedication to demonstrating transparency when addressing compliance issues.
