- Protos reports Sen. Richard Blumenthal is asking whether Binance lied to Congress about Iran.
- Binance told the Senate its direct volume with four Iranian exchanges did not exceed $110,000 last year.
- Public reporting traced about $1.7 billion in flows from Binance-linked accounts to Iran-linked entities.
US Senator Richard Blumenthal is intensifying scrutiny of Binance after reports suggested Iran-linked flows far exceeded the exchange’s disclosures to Congress.
A follow-up letter asks whether Binance provided incomplete or misleading information to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, widening the gap between Binance’s stated exposure and publicly reported transactions.
Blumenthal Presses Binance Over Iran Exposure
In a new letter to Binance CEO Richard Teng, Blumenthal wrote that the exchange may have provided “misrepresentations or misleading information to the Subcommittee and to the public.” The senator is seeking documents that support Binance’s March 6 response and its claim that direct activity with four Iranian exchanges stayed below $110,000.
That letter follows weeks of reporting by Fortune and the New York Times, cited by Protos and the Senate.
Those reports traced roughly $1.7 billion in flows from Binance-linked accounts to Iran-linked entities, including wallets reportedly tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Houthis.
$110,000 Claim Faces Scrutiny
Binance said on March 6 that the allegations were “demonstrably false, unsupported by credible evidence, and defamatory in several material respects.” The exchange also said it acted against intermediaries, including Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust, to reduce indirect exposure to wallet addresses with potential Iran ties.
Blumenthal’s follow-up letter delves further into those details. The senator pointed to reporting about VIP accounts that allegedly routed hundreds of millions of dollars in USDT through Binance-linked pipelines into intermediary clusters tied to Iranian entities.
He also cited reporting that some accounts carried manual instructions, reading, “Don’t block. Internal accounts.”
Senate Timeline Tightens Around Binance Response
Blumenthal is also asking when flagged entities opened accounts, when transfers began, when Binance staff raised alerts, and when suspicious activity reports went to US law enforcement. His office said Binance has two weeks to respond.
The latest letter marks another step in a broader 2026 pressure campaign. Blumenthal opened an inquiry in February, and Senate Democrats previously urged the Treasury and DOJ to investigate Binance over Iran-linked activity. Binance, meanwhile, has rejected the allegations and is separately pursuing defamation claims against the Wall Street Journal.
Related: Crypto Volatility Builds as Iran-US Risks Escalate
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