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

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Nexo Partners with Bakkt for US Crypto Exchange and Yield Programs

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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Anchorage Digital adds Tron custody, opens U.S. institutional access to TRX trading

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Anchorage Digital adds Tron custody, opens U.S. institutional access to TRX trading

Anchorage Digital, the first crypto firm to get a U.S. banking charter, said it will add support for the Tron blockchain, starting with institutional custody for TRX, the network’s native token.

The announcement gives institutions a regulated way to hold TRX through the company’s platform and its self-custody wallet, Porto. Anchorage Digital said support for TRC-20 assets and native TRX staking be added later.

Tron has become one of the busiest networks for moving stablecoins and other digital assets. DeFiLlama data shows that the supply of stablecoins on the network has grown steadily over the last three years and now stands at $86 billion. That’s more than a quarter of the total stablecoin supply.

Anchorage is pitching the integration as a compliance-focused bridge between traditional institutions and a network that has seen heavy use in crypto payments. CEO Nathan McCauley said the addition brings “one of crypto’s largest ecosystems into an institutional framework.”

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The rollout will happen in stages. First comes custody for TRX, with plans to add Tron-based TRC-20 assets later. That’s followed by staking for institutions that want to earn rewards while taking part in network validation.

Anchorage already supports major networks including Ethereum and some of the biggest layer-2 networks such as Arbitrum, Optimism, Base and Linea. It also supports bitcoin and solana (SOL) tokens, and other major layer-1 networks like Avalanche and BNB Chain.

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Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest Partners with Kalshi to Leverage Prediction Market Intelligence

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Brian Armstrong's Bold Prediction: AI Agents Will Soon Dominate Global Financial

Key Highlights

  • Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest partners with Kalshi to integrate prediction market intelligence into investment strategy
  • Prediction market insights will support portfolio research, risk assessment, and hedging strategies
  • Cathie Wood describes prediction markets as “a natural next step for innovation in financial research”
  • Federal Reserve researchers and Cornell University academics have validated prediction market data’s utility
  • Kalshi recently achieved a $22 billion valuation following a $1 billion capital raise

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has revealed a strategic partnership with Kalshi, a regulated prediction markets platform, marking a significant shift in how institutional investors approach market intelligence.

According to the announcement, ARK Invest will integrate Kalshi’s prediction market data across three critical functions: enhancing its proprietary research with real-time crowd-sourced forecasts, monitoring key performance metrics such as trading activity, and implementing risk controls tied to specific market events.

The investment firm also intends to utilize Kalshi’s platform for hedging strategies designed to protect against adverse scenarios impacting its holdings, spanning both macroeconomic developments and industry-specific vulnerabilities.

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“We believe these signals can enhance our research process and provide valuable context around key drivers across disruptive sectors,” Wood stated in Thursday’s announcement.

Nick Grous, ARK’s Director of Research, characterized prediction markets as delivering “some of the purest expressions of risk around key economic and company-specific outcomes.”

ARK has actively collaborated with Kalshi to develop specialized markets aligned with the firm’s analytical priorities.

Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour disclosed that multiple ARK-requested markets have already launched, including contracts tracking non-farm payroll data and deficit-to-GDP ratios.

Understanding Prediction Markets

Prediction markets function as trading platforms where participants buy and sell contracts based on future event outcomes. The fundamental premise holds that when participants risk actual capital, market prices become efficient aggregators of collective knowledge and unbiased probability assessments.

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Kalshi stands as one of America’s leading regulated prediction market operators. Its primary competitor, Polymarket, functions predominantly within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Throughout the previous year, prediction markets recorded over $10 billion in monthly transaction volume, attracting increasing institutional adoption.

Institutional Validation Growing

ARK Invest joins a expanding roster of established institutions recognizing prediction market value. Recently, Federal Reserve researchers released a study contending that Kalshi’s data offers superior real-time measurement of macroeconomic expectations compared to conventional forecasting instruments.

Federal Reserve analysts concluded that Kalshi markets deliver “a high-frequency, continuously updated, distributionally rich benchmark” valuable for both academic researchers and monetary policy officials.

Academic institutions have similarly engaged with prediction market analytics. Cornell University researchers examined Polymarket data to investigate trader behavior during significant political moments, including the 2024 presidential debate series and the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

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Kalshi’s recent $1 billion funding round established the platform’s valuation at $22 billion, underscoring growing confidence in prediction markets as financial infrastructure.

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Ripple CEO Bets Big on Clarity Act Despite Coinbase Clash

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Crypto Breaking News

Key Insights

  • Garlinghouse remains confident the Clarity Act will pass despite industry divisions and Coinbase resistance.
  • SEC and CFTC recognition of assets like XRP signals growing regulatory clarity in the crypto sector.
  • Ripple sees limited need for multiple USD stablecoins, positioning for a compliant, institution-focused alternative.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has expressed confidence that the US Senate’s stalled Clarity Act will eventually pass, even as opposition from Coinbase continues to complicate negotiations.

Speaking at the FII PRIORITY Miami summit, Garlinghouse emphasized that Ripple is not directly involved in the dispute. ‘Ripple doesn’t have a big dog in this fight,’ he said, noting the company is largely observing developments from the sidelines.

Regulatory Momentum Builds

The Clarity Act aims to introduce more transparent regulations concerning the digital assets, especially relating to the classification and regulation. It has drawn the attention of the crypto industry, which has long wanted regulatory certainty in the United States.

Garlinghouse pointed to growing institutional and political backing as a positive signal. ‘White House support pushing the Clarity Act forward has been profound,’ he stated, suggesting momentum remains intact despite setbacks.

However, Coinbase’s rejection of a recent compromise has slowed progress. The exchange has pushed towards more desirable terms, marking continuing divisions in the industry on how regulation is to be designed.

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SEC, CFTC and Existing Clarity

Garlinghouse also referenced existing regulatory developments, noting that assets like XRP have already seen classification progress. According to him, both the SEC and CFTC have acknowledged certain digital assets as commodities.

‘There is already some clarity,’ he said, adding that industry participants are growing impatient. ‘People are annoyed. They are exhausted. So, hopefully we get something done.’

Stablecoin Debate Intensifies

Beyond legislation, Garlinghouse addressed the proliferation of stablecoins, particularly those pegged to the U.S. dollar. He argued that the market does not need excessive duplication.

‘My head starts to hurt if you think about the proliferation,’ he said, referencing the growing number of USD-backed tokens, including USDC.

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He disclosed that Ripple had already minted a substantial share of USDC, implying that the company is equipped with the infrastructure to issue its own stablecoin. Having a strong balance sheet, Ripple aims to establish itself as a compliant, institution-oriented player.

Market Outlook

As regulatory discussions continue, XRP market sentiment is still closely linked to legislative progress and developments around ETFs. The implementation of the Clarity Act may help give a more transparent framework for institutional adoption.

Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

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Tether Hires KPMG for First Full USDt Audit: Report

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Tether Hires KPMG for First Full USDt Audit: Report

The Financial Times reported Friday that Tether has hired KPMG to conduct its first full audit of USDT’s financial statements and brought in PwC to help prepare its internal systems, citing people familiar with the matter.

The reported mandate follows Tether’s Tuesday announcement that it had formally engaged a Big Four firm for an inaugural financial statement audit, without naming the provider, and comes after years of pledges to deliver a full review of its books while relying instead on periodic reserve attestations from BDO Italia, the Italian member firm of the BDO global accounting network that has been producing USDt (USDT) assurance reports since 2022.

The move comes as Tether (USDT) weighs a major equity raise and a push into the US under the new federal stablecoin framework created by the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. 

USDT, a dollar-linked token with about $185 billion in circulation, is the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, according to CoinGecko. Tether said in January that it held more than $122 billion in direct US Treasury securities and about $141 billion in total Treasury exposure, including related instruments such as overnight reverse repurchase agreements.

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Related: Tether CEO slams S&P ratings agency and influencers spreading USDt FUD

A comprehensive audit by KPMG is expected to go beyond snapshots of reserves, covering Tether’s assets, liabilities and internal controls across its sprawling balance sheet, a process the company has billed as “the biggest ever inaugural audit in the history of financial markets.” 

Tether’s Big Four Announcement on Tuesday. Source: Tether

Tether said the Big Four firm was chosen through a competitive process and that it already operates at Big Four “audit standards,” but has not yet committed publicly to when the audit will be completed.

Cointelegraph reached out to Tether and KPMG but had not received a response by publication. PwC refused to comment on the matter.

KPMG audit and Tether’s funding ambitions 

Bloomberg reported in September 2025 that Tether was exploring raising as much as $20 billion in fresh equity, implying a valuation of $500 billion. Tether CEO Paulo Ardoino refuted these claims, telling Cointelegraph in February that such a figure had not been agreed upon, while maintaining its $500 billion valuation target based on the company’s profits.

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The company has previously paid a $41 million Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fine over what the regulator called “untrue or misleading statements” about its reserves.

In a separate case, Tether agreed to an $18.5 million settlement with the New York Attorney General over allegations it concealed losses and misled investors about USDT’s backing. Under the NYAG deal, Tether was compelled to provide detailed quarterly reserve reports for two years and later dropped its opposition to the release of those materials. 

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