Main Takeaways
Binance has filed a lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over false and defamatory reporting published on February 23, 2026.
We filed to protect our reputation, correct the public record, and prevent misinformation from driving unnecessary confusion and distraction across the ecosystem.
Binance’s compliance program is substantial, continuously improving, and measurable in its outcomes, including a 96.8% reduction in sanctions-related exposure as a share of total exchange volume from January 2024 to July 2025.
On February 23, 2026, The Wall Street Journal published an article about Binance that contained false and defamatory statements. Today, Binance filed a complaint seeking vindication of its reputation and accountability for the harm those statements have caused, such as leading to government officials launching baseless and unnecessary inquiries into the company. The full document is available here.
Why We Filed
We filed this complaint to shine the light of truth and to defend the trust our users, partners, and broader stakeholders place in Binance. When inaccurate reporting is repeated and amplified, the consequences are significant. It can create confusion, damage trust, misdirect attention away from substantive work, and trigger avoidable inquiries that consume time and resources across the public and private sectors.
“We view this lawsuit as a necessary step to defend ourselves against misinformation, hold The Wall Street Journal accountable for prioritizing clicks over journalistic integrity, and address the significant reputational harm and business consequences that have resulted,” said Binance’s Global Head of Litigation, Dugan Bliss. “This type of reporting erodes trust in the broader industry and undermines the efforts of those who are committed to protecting users and advancing positive innovation.”
Bliss added, “We take immense pride in our industry-leading compliance program and remain unwavering in our commitment to upholding the highest standards. This reflects the trust placed in us by more than 300 million users worldwide, who rely on our world-class security measures and user protections every day.”
Our Compliance Program, Built for Real-World Risk
Binance operates a global platform that hundreds of millions of people use. That comes with responsibility, and we take it seriously. We have built one of the largest and most robust compliance programs in the digital-asset industry, investing hundreds of millions of dollars in talent, processes, infrastructure, and technology.
Today, more than 1,500 individuals, nearly a quarter of our global workforce, support compliance, investigative, and risk functions across the company. This includes specialists trained in sanctions compliance, counter-terrorist financing, financial crime investigations, and complex on-chain tracing.
Our compliance approach is operational and repeatable: when there is credible risk information, we investigate, mitigate, offboard where appropriate, and report to relevant authorities. This work is supported by extensive tooling across customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, behavioral analytics, and investigations workflows. We also continually strengthen geolocation and controls intended to prevent users in prohibited jurisdictions from accessing the platform, including active measures to combat VPN circumvention.
Measurable Results
Compliance programs should be evaluated on outcomes. Binance’s consistent work and investments have produced measurable improvements over time, including:
Sanctions-related exposure declined 96.8% as a share of total exchange volume, from 0.284% in January 2024 to 0.009% in July 2025.
Direct exposure to the four major Iranian crypto exchanges declined 97.3%, from $4.19 million in January 2024 to $110,000 in January 2026.
In 2025, Binance processed more than 71,000 law enforcement requests globally.
Binance supported the freezing and recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars linked to illicit activity in 2025, working with law enforcement and partner networks.
As we have noted before, public blockchains allow any party to send assets to an exchange deposit address without the exchange’s prior approval. That reality means risk cannot be reduced to absolute zero on any blockchain platform. Responsible operators focus on detection, investigation, mitigation, offboarding, and reporting, backed by ongoing monitoring and continuous improvement.
Binance holds regulatory approvals and licenses in more than 20 jurisdictions and is the first cryptocurrency exchange to have secured full authorization under the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market’s regulatory framework. We continue to invest in governance, independent oversight, and ongoing reviews across markets, incorporating feedback to strengthen our controls.
Final Thoughts
We filed this lawsuit because the trust placed in Binance by more than 300 million users is earned through real work and real accountability.
We will continue to strengthen our compliance program, cooperate with law enforcement, engage constructively with regulators, and protect our users. We will also continue to correct the record when false statements cause harm.