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Binance WSJ Lawsuit: The Crypto Exchange Sues Wall Street Journal Over ‘Defamatory’ Iran Sanctions Report

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The Binance crypto exchange has gone on the offensive against the Wall Street Journal and its Iran sanctions report

The Binance crypto exchange has officially filed a defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, or known as WSJ, in the Southern District of New York. The complaint, filed today (March 11), alleges the newspaper published false claims regarding the exchange’s compliance controls and handling of Iran sanctions data.

At the center of the dispute is a February report claiming Binance knowingly processed over $1Bn for sanctioned entities.

The Binance crypto exchange has gone on the offensive against the Wall Street Journal and its Iran sanctions report
SOURCE: TradingView

This news has led to the BNB price dropping 1% in the past hours, to $640, as investors are seemingly spooked at yet another potential legal dispute involving Binance.

CEO Richard Teng has condemned the reporting as inaccurate, stating the outlet ignored documented evidence provided before publication.

What’s the WSJ Report Actually Alleged And Why Binance Says It’s Wrong

The Wall Street Journal article, titled “Binance Fired Staff Who Flagged $1 Billion Moving to Sanctioned Iran Entities,” depicted a chaotic internal struggle at the world’s largest crypto exchange.

It is alleged that compliance staff were fired not for policy breaches, but for doing their jobs identifying illicit flows.

Specifically, the report claimed Binance processed $1.7Bn in transactions linked to Iranian entities, including a Hong Kong-based fiat-to-crypto converter called “Blessed Trust.”

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According to the Journal, this activity continued despite internal red flags. The report immediately triggered a regulatory inquiry.

US Senator Richard Blumenthal cited the article as grounds for demanding a formal investigation into the exchange’s operations, which Binance CEO Richard Teng responded to on March 6, denying all claims.

The allegations arrived during a sensitive period for crypto regulation, mirroring the pressure seen as Democrats introduce bills to ban platforms like Polymarket over compliance concerns.

DISCOVER: Next Crypto to Explode in 2026

Binance Fires Back: 19 Ignored Responses and a 96.8% Compliance Claim

Binance’s defense hinges on what it calls willful disregard for the facts. The exchange claims it sent the WSJ 19 detailed responses and answered 27 specific questions before the publication deadline, none of which appeared in the final story.

Richard Teng publicly rejected the narrative, emphasizing that the employees in question were dismissed for data policy violations, not for flagging sanctions evasion.

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The exchange cited hard numbers to counter the defamation claims. Binance states it has achieved a -96.8% reduction in sanctions exposure risks through upgraded protocols. Currently, more than 1,500 employees, nearly a quarter of the workforce within Binance, work in compliance.

Regarding the specific “Blessed Trust” account, Binance clarified that the entity was offboarded and reported to law enforcement in 2025, long before the WSJ report suggested the activity was ongoing.

What This Means for Binance and the Broader Crypto-Media Relationship

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This lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, arguing the report caused harm that no simple correction can fix. The legal action follows a significant win for Binance on March 7, when a federal judge dismissed a separate lawsuit alleging the exchange facilitated terrorist financing.

That court found no material support was provided, strengthening Binance’s position that it is not liable for the actions of bad actors who might attempt to access the platform.

Traders are watching this case closely as a test of the “actual malice” standard in crypto reporting. While the exchange settled with the DOJ in 2023 for $4.3Bn over historical failures, this aggressive legal stance signals a refusal to accept what it deems false narratives about its current operations.

The focus now shifts to the WSJ’s response and whether the regulatory inquiry sparked by the article will sustain momentum without the supporting media narrative.

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We will continue to update this story as more details emerge over the coming days and weeks.

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The post Binance WSJ Lawsuit: The Crypto Exchange Sues Wall Street Journal Over ‘Defamatory’ Iran Sanctions Report appeared first on Cryptonews.

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Bitcoin Whipsaws Around $70K as Trump Says There’s ‘Nothing Left’ to Hit in Iran

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BTCUSD Mar 11. Source: TradingView


The other reason behind BTC’s latest volatile session could be linked to the recently released CPI numbers for February.

US President Donald Trump continues to comment on the quickly escalating tension in the Middle East, suggesting once again that the war could be over soon.

Bitcoin’s price experienced immediate volatility after his remarks became viral on social media.

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This is Trump’s second similar claim in the past few days, after he noted on Monday that the war “is very complete, pretty much.” However, his statements are not supported by some country officials as well as its partner in this case, Israel.

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Walter Bloomberg’s report indicated that the two countries plan “at least two more weeks of strikes.” Additionally, the situation lastly escalated after the US started reporting that Iran had put mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military has destroyed at least 16 mine-laying boats in the region, but officials have asserted that “it’s unclear how many mines Iran has deployed.”

Bitcoin traded at $69,200 before Trump’s statement went live, but skyrocketed by almost two grand instantly. Although it was stopped at $71,100, it still trades above $70,000 as of press time.

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There’s another possible reason behind BTC’s volatility. As reported a few hours ago, the US CPI data for February was released, and it matched expectations. However, bitcoin remained relatively calm in the first 90 minutes after the news went live, so Trump’s remarks on the war seem to have a more profound impact.

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BTCUSD Mar 11. Source: TradingView
BTCUSD Mar 11. Source: TradingView

 

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Wells Fargo files WFUSD trademark for crypto services

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

TLDR

  • Wells Fargo filed a U.S. trademark application for the wordmark WFUSD on March 9.
  • The USPTO lists the application as live and pending review.
  • The filing covers software for digital asset trading, payments, and wallet services.
  • It also includes cryptocurrency exchange services and financial data processing.
  • The application references tokenization and blockchain-based trading infrastructure.

Wells Fargo & Company has filed a U.S. trademark application for the wordmark “WFUSD.” The filing covers software, trading, payments, and tokenization services tied to digital assets. The United States Patent and Trademark Office lists the application as live and pending.

Wells Fargo Moves to Secure ‘WFUSD’ Trademark

Wells Fargo & Company submitted the trademark application on March 9, according to USPTO records. The filing appeared publicly on the USPTO site early Wednesday. The agency confirmed the application met minimum filing requirements. However, it has not yet assigned an examining attorney.

The application spans three international classes that cover digital asset services. Class 009 includes downloadable software for digital asset trading, payments, and wallet functions. Class 036 covers cryptocurrency trading and exchange services and financial information processing. Class 042 includes software-as-a-service for tokenizing assets and operating blockchain trading infrastructure.

The filing also references software used to process stablecoin transactions. The name “WFUSD” resembles ticker symbols for U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins. However, Wells Fargo has not issued any public statement about the application.

Filing Aligns with Wells Fargo’s Prior Crypto Activity

Wells Fargo has backed digital asset infrastructure firms in recent years. In February 2020, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital invested $5 million in Elliptic. The blockchain analytics firm counts SBI Holdings and Santander InnoVentures among its investors.

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In May 2022, the bank joined a $105 million Series B round for Talos. Citigroup, BNY, and DRW also participated in that funding round. The investment valued Talos at $1.25 billion.

The trademark filing follows commentary from the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. In March 2025, the institute stated that digital assets have “evolved into a viable investment asset.” The report classified digital assets as “part of real assets within an asset-allocation framework.”

The institute also described digital assets as “potential portfolio diversifiers.” The report cited low five- and ten-year correlations with traditional asset classes. It framed digital assets within a broader allocation strategy.

Wells Fargo reported net income of $5.36 billion for the fourth quarter of 2025. The bank posted $1.62 per diluted share during that period. In the same quarter a year earlier, it reported $5.08 billion, or $1.43 per share.

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Wells Fargo manages approximately $2.1 trillion in assets. The USPTO currently lists the “WFUSD” application as live and pending. The agency has not yet assigned the filing to an examining attorney.

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Hollywood Star-Turned-Skeptic Releases Trailer for Anti-Crypto Doc

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Hollywood Star-Turned-Skeptic Releases Trailer for Anti-Crypto Doc

Ben McKenzie’s film, “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money” touts interviews with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried on his political donations.

Ben McKenzie, a Hollywood actor known for his roles on television shows including Gotham and The OC, has released the trailer for a documentary about cryptocurrency featuring interviews with actors and former executives at once-prominent trading platforms.

Released by international sales agency and distributor The Forge on Tuesday, the trailer for the documentary, titled “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money,” showed McKenzie saying cryptocurrency was “pretty stupid” and the actor’s journey to advocating against the industry. The film features footage from 2022 of former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried and former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky before their respective companies collapsed, as well as interviews with celebrities including Morena Baccarin and Gerard Butler.

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The trailer shows McKenzie directly asking SBF how much he had donated to politicians; it lists among its cast El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who advocated for the country to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in 2021. Notably, Butler said in an interview with McKenzie that he had “made a ton of money” investing in crypto but didn’t “actually know anything about it.”

McKenzie shifted from working in Hollywood to speaking out against issues in the crypto industry after learning about the technology in 2020. After the collapse of FTX in 2022, he testified at a US Senate hearing investigating the downfall of the exchange, calling the industry “the largest Ponzi scheme in history.”

Related: Ex-SafeMoon chief sentenced to more than 8 years over $9M investor fraud

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Cointelegraph reached out to the filmmakers for comment on the content of the interviews with SBF and Bukele but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Bankman-Fried still exploring a potential presidential pardon or appeal

The former FTX CEO is serving a 25-year sentence in US federal prison following his 2023 conviction on seven felony counts related to the misuse of customer funds at the exchange. However, Bankman-Fried has two potential paths to early release.

Shortly after his 2024 sentencing, SBF’s lawyers filed an appeal to overturn the conviction and sentence. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals had not released any decision as of Wednesday.

In addition, Bankman-Fried has been lobbying US President Donald Trump through social media posts praising his actions, often on matters unrelated to crypto. However, Trump said in a January interview that he was not considering a pardon for the former CEO.

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