Binance
Summary
Binance is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao (CZ). In November 2023, Binance and CZ pleaded guilty to U.S. federal charges and agreed to pay $4.3 billion in combined penalties for Bank Secrecy Act violations, unlicensed money transmission, and sanctions evasion — the largest financial penalty ever imposed on a cryptocurrency company. CZ resigned as CEO, served a four-month prison sentence in 2024, and was controversially pardoned by President Trump in October 2025. Under CEO Richard Teng, Binance has pursued an aggressive global licensing strategy while remaining subject to ongoing compliance monitoring and new civil litigation tied to terrorist financing allegations.
Connected Entities
19 entities · 60 linked investigations- FTX→associated with→Alameda Research(95%)
- Changpeng Zhao→member of→Binance(95%)
- Richard Teng→member of→Binance(80%)
- Guangying Chen→member of→Binance(80%)
- Paul Atkins→member of→Binance(80%)
- Richard Jones→member of→Binance(80%)
- Richard Blumenthal→member of→Binance(75%)
- Donald Trump→member of→Binance(85%)
- Sigma Chain→subsidiary of→Binance(90%)
- BAM Trading Services→subsidiary of→Binance(90%)
- + 16 more
Community submissions
“New DOJ criminal probe (distinct from the Blessed Trust/Hexa Whale forfeiture case) into whether Binance's own management knowingly permitted Iran sanctions violations post-2023 settlement.”
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“DOJ/SDNY forfeiture complaint documents Binance trading accounts used as a conduit for laundering $61M+ in Iranian oil sanctions-evasion proceeds via shell entities Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited.”
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- Under reviewincriminating9/16/2026, 11:13:47 AM
“DOJ civil forfeiture complaint alleging ~$61M in Iranian sanctions-evasion oil proceeds were laundered through Binance.”
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“New DOJ civil forfeiture complaint (Sept 14, 2026) documents $1.5B in alleged sanctions-evasion proceeds routed through Binance accounts via two laundering fronts.”
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“As of July 1, 2026, Binance is formally locked out of the EU after withdrawing its Greek MiCA license application — reportedly rejected due to co-founder CZ's criminal conviction failing the fit-and-proper test. Binance halted new sign-ups, spot orders, deposits, Earn, staking, and Launchpool for EU residents. Millions of EU users now lack MiCA consumer protections. Binance is pursuing a French MiCA application but has no timeline. This is a material new development post-dating prior Binance entries in the system.”
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“Binance withdrew Greece MiCA application June 24 after regulator signaled rejection on CZ fit-and-proper grounds; EU service halt effective July 1, 2026 — significant new regulatory development for the existing Binance corpus entry”
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“March 2026 DOJ investigation into $1B+ Binance-facilitated transactions for IRGC and Houthi-linked entities — new enforcement exposure on top of existing 2023 plea”
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Timeline(24 events)
July 2017
Binance launched via ICO, raising a disputed amount between $5M and $15M. BNB token issued on Ethereum.
Yahoo Finance / Forbes7 May 2019
Hackers stole 7,074 BTC (~$40.7M) from Binance hot wallet. Losses covered by SAFU fund.
CoinDeskAugust 2019
KYC data of up to 60,000 Binance users leaked from third-party vendor. Blackmailer demanded 300 BTC (~$3.5M).
The Hacker News6 October 2022
BNB Chain cross-chain bridge exploited via forged Merkle proof, allowing attacker to mint ~2M BNB (~$570M). Approximately $100M unrecovered.
CNBC6 November 2022
CZ tweets that Binance will liquidate its $580M FTT holdings, triggering a $6B bank run on FTX over 72 hours.
Fortune11 November 2022
FTX files for bankruptcy after Binance backs out of acquisition. Binance trading volumes surge approximately 30%.
CoinDesk13 February 2023
NYDFS orders Paxos to cease minting BUSD. SEC issues Wells notice to Paxos over BUSD as alleged unregistered security.
CoinDesk5 June 2023
SEC files 13-count civil lawsuit against Binance Holdings, BAM Trading, BAM Management, and CZ, alleging unregistered securities operations, wash trading, and customer fund mishandling.
SEC.gov21 November 2023
Binance pleads guilty to BSA, unlicensed money transmission, and IEEPA violations. CZ resigns as CEO and pleads guilty personally. $4.3B combined penalty agreed across DOJ, CFTC, FinCEN, and OFAC.
DOJ / Axios29 November 2023
Binance announces it will cease all support for BUSD stablecoin on December 15, 2023.
CoinDesk25 February 2024
Binance compliance executive Tigran Gambaryan detained by Nigerian authorities on money laundering charges. Denied bail and sent to Kuje Prison.
CoinDesk30 April 2024
U.S. District Judge Richard Jones sentences CZ to four months in federal prison, rejecting the DOJ's request for a three-year term.
CNBC9 May 2024
Wall Street Journal reports Binance fired its head of market surveillance after he submitted internal report alleging $300M wash trading by VIP client DWF Labs. Binance disputes the characterization.
CoinDesk24 October 2024
Nigeria drops charges against Tigran Gambaryan; he is released after eight months of detention and departs Nigeria for medical treatment.
CoinDesk11 February 2025
SEC and Binance jointly move to pause the 2023 civil lawsuit, signaling potential resolution under Trump administration.
Fortune29 May 2025
SEC files to dismiss with prejudice its 13-count lawsuit against Binance, BAM Trading, and CZ under SEC Chairman Paul Atkins.
CoinDesk23 October 2025
President Donald Trump grants a full presidential pardon to Changpeng Zhao. Congressional Democrats and bipartisan critics condemn the pardon.
CNBC25 November 2025
306 families of October 7, 2023 attack victims sue Binance, CZ, and executive Guangying Chen under the Anti-Terrorism Act, alleging Binance knowingly facilitated over $1B in transactions for Hamas, Hezbollah, IRGC, and PIJ.
CoinDesk / Bloomberg8 December 2025
Binance secures three full regulatory licenses from Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), covering exchange, clearing, and brokerage operations under entity names Nest Exchange, Nest Clearing, and Nest Trading.
CoinDesk / ADGM12 February 2026
Binance converts its $1B SAFU emergency insurance fund from stablecoins into approximately 15,000 BTC.
CoinDesk11 March 2026
U.S. Department of Justice opens new investigation into whether Iran used Binance to circumvent U.S. sanctions, following Fortune report of over $1.7B transferred to Iran-linked entities.
Euronews / CoinDesk17 April 2026
Senator Blumenthal presses DOJ and Treasury on status of Binance compliance monitors amid Iran sanctions concerns. Treasury tightens pressure on Binance regarding potential violations.
Fortune / The BlockDecision Log
- hash: GQTrR2YVhvvyocA9hQRebKfYC2RBVtJ6uLb2aWkTgAS1
- hash: AxknijHiZ3apRqFoefTN35J6NEWAqc8Wy6Uo7aPGHLFe
- hash: 96Jf8vTpseHrpduCMoEMkEyCqnkTKLL3a2JysxCW6FRJ
- hash: 8A5WmNVyCNxqrRWnWFAhVTckbpAaMEhtWwzC94gbPh7w
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (4 events). 28 of 29 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 4/12/2026, 5:47:40 AM
last updated: 7/24/2026, 3:53:00 PM
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