Ashkaf Farzana

In Sign Protocol, digital identity and credentials are transformed into secure, on-chain attestations that users fully control. Instead of relying on centralized platforms to store and verify personal data, individuals can hold verifiable proofs of their identity, achievements, and roles directly on the blockchain.
These credentials are tamper-proof, easily shareable, and instantly verifiable removing the need for repeated manual checks.
This system is closely linked to Verifiable Credentials, a framework that allows digital information (like certificates or IDs) to be cryptographically trusted.
For example, a university can issue a certificate as an attestation, or a DAO can assign roles to members, all recorded on-chain.
When needed, users can present these credentials to prove qualifications, participation, or identity without depending on third parties.
The key advantage is ownership and privacy. Users decide what to share and when, while sensitive data can remain hidden through advanced cryptographic methods.
Whether it’s education certificates, KYC verification, or DAO roles, Sign Protocol enables a future where identity is portable, secure, and universally verifiable across the Web3 ecosystem.
@SignOfficial $SIGN
#SignDigitalSovereignInfra

Today, we are publishing Binance’s response to U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal’s February 24, 2026 letter, which relied in significant part on recent media reports containing false, unsupported, and defamatory claims about our compliance program and sanctions controls.Main TakeawaysBinance appreciates the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations’ work and takes its legal and compliance obligations seriously, prioritizing platform safety and regulatory cooperation.Recent media reports cited by the Subcommittee (from NYT, Fortune, WSJ) contain significant inaccuracies and defamatory claims about Binance’s compliance efforts.The investigations into Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust were proactive responses to law enforcement inquiries; both entities were offboarded after thorough internal reviews before any related press coverage appeared. There were no direct transactions involving Iran-based entities on Binance.Regarding employee matters, out of over 1,500 compliance staff, only a small number have separated from Binance; this is a normal turnover rate for a large organization. One employee was terminated for unauthorized disclosure of internal user information, and others left voluntarily; none were terminated for raising compliance concerns. Binance has a rigorous and continuously improving compliance program, including strict KYC procedures and a prohibition on users residing in Iran. Binance has enhanced geolocation controls and actively combats VPN circumvention to enforce user eligibility and compliance.Binance has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in compliance infrastructure, employing over 1,500 specialists trained in sanctions, counter-terrorism financing, and financial crime investigations. The company uses over 25 advanced tools for due diligence, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, and behavioral analytics to detect and mitigate illicit activity.Binance maintains strong partnerships with law enforcement and crime-fighting networks, contributing to freezing and recovering hundreds of millions in illicit funds.In 2025, Binance processed over 71,000 law enforcement requests and helped seize more than $752 million in illicit assets globally, including nearly $579 million for U.S. agencies.Exposure to wallets linked to illicit activity has decreased by nearly 97% from early 2024 to mid-2025, including a 97.3% reduction in exposure to major Iranian crypto exchanges.Binance acknowledges that absolute zero risk is impossible on public blockchains but relies on robust monitoring and controls to minimize and mitigate risks.Binance remains committed to strengthening its compliance program, protecting users, cooperating with authorities, and supporting the global crypto ecosystem.The response is based on the best available information within the timeframe and does not waive any legal rights or privileges.Full LetterMarch 6, 2026The Honorable Richard BlumenthalRanking Member, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigationscc: The Honorable Ron JohnsonChairman, Permanent Subcommittee on InvestigationsRe: Response to February 24, 2026 Letter to BinanceDear Ranking Member Blumenthal:We represent Binance (or the “Company”) and write in response to your letter, dated February 24, 2026 (“Letter”) concerning the prevention of money laundering. Binance recognizes the importance of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations’ (“Subcommittee”) work and appreciates this opportunity to respond.Binance takes its legal obligations seriously and shares your interest in the safety of its platform. The recent reporting on which your inquiry relies, however, is demonstrably false, unsupported by credible evidence, and defamatory in several material respects. (Footnote: We are specifically referring to the New York Times, Fortune, and Wall Street Journal articles referenced in your letter published in February 2026). Binance has a rigorous compliance program that is consistently growing stronger. Binance also has strict Know Your Customer (“KYC”) and compliance procedures in place and prohibits users residing or located in Iran on the platform.Your letter focuses largely on two entities – Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust – with alleged indirect exposure to wallet addresses with potential ties to Iran. Binance became aware of the concerns with these entities after initiating a proactive investigation in response to law enforcement inquiries. As a result of our investigation, we removed those entities from the Binance.com platform. Moreover, to our knowledge, no Binance account transacted directly with an Iran-based entity.These are the topline responses to your letter, which cites allegations in press reports that are simply not true. We explain some of the key inaccuracies below.I. Binance’s Best-in-Class Compliance ProgramIn recent years, Binance has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in compliance infrastructure to build a strong compliance program and support Binance’s goal of being at the frontlines of regulatory development, securing user funds, and promoting a safe trading environment. As part of this effort, Binance has significantly expanded its compliance headcount to more than 1,500 individuals worldwide. This includes hundreds of professionals with specialized training and experience in sanctions, counter-terrorist financing, and financial crimes investigations.In addition, Binance invests in people and processes to detect suspicious activity, report it, and proactively cooperate with law enforcement to address it. It has deployed more than 25 leading tools for due diligence and monitoring of customers who use the platform and has developed state-of-the-art systems to detect suspicious activity and ensure compliance with global sanctions laws. Through onboarding checks, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, and behavioral analytics, Binance has developed the capacity to precisely detect illicit transactions and reduce false positives. Consistent with its commitment to combatting illicit finance and supporting law enforcement, Binance also maintains robust partnerships with law enforcement agencies and networks, like the Beacon Network and T3 Financial Crime Unit, which have real-time crime-fighting initiatives that freeze and recover illicit funds before they can circulate further. For example, in T3’s first year of operation, the network froze over $300 million in tainted funds.With more than 300 million users worldwide, Binance makes compliance a top priority. In 2025 alone, Binance processed more than 71,000 law-enforcement requests. During the last three years, Binance also helped law enforcement agencies seize more than $752 million, including nearly $579 million for government agencies in the United States. And, based on data from blockchain analytics providers, from January 2024 to July 2025, Binance’s exposure to wallets allegedly involved in illicit activity decreased from 0.284% of total exchange volume to just 0.009% of exchange volume – a decline of nearly 97%. As for the four major Iranian crypto exchanges, Binance reduced its exposure by 97.3% in the last two years, from $4.19 million to just $110,000. (Footnote: By design, public blockchains allow users to send assets to exchange deposit addresses without prior approval from the receiving exchange. As a result, risk exposure cannot be reduced to absolute zero on any blockchain platform. Exchanges therefore rely on robust on-chain monitoring, screening, and post-receipt controls to detect, investigate, and mitigate exposure after funds are received.)Binance is always seeking to improve, its renewed compliance focus in recent years has already yielded tremendous results.II. Binance’s Successful Efforts to Offboard User AccountsRecent reporting on Binance’s sanctions compliance is false, appears to be based on a misunderstanding of the facts, and does not fully reflect the broader investigative work that Binance has undertaken. While the Company cannot disclose details that could compromise ongoing law enforcement investigations, we will offer what we can to clarify the record.A. Hexa Whale InvestigationFirst, in April 2025, law enforcement sent Binance requests seeking information about transactions between Binance wallets and several non-Binance wallet addresses. According to law enforcement, those non-Binance wallet addresses had potential connections to terrorist financing.After receiving the requests, Binance investigators initiated a comprehensive review to determine not only Binance’s exposure to the wallets implicated by the outreach, but any other Binance users with such exposure. In June 2025, Binance responded to law enforcement and provided user operation logs, including, but not limited to, KYC information and transaction information for Binance accounts linked to the identified wallets, including Hexa Whale.Even after Binance had fulfilled the law enforcement request, it proactively continued its investigation. After the conclusion of that investigation, on August 13, 2025, Binance offboarded Hexa Whale, thus appropriately concluding its investigation of this now-defunct trading entity.B. Blessed Trust InvestigationIn summer 2025, Binance received a separate set of requests from law enforcement, which identified transactions between Binance user accounts and non-Binance wallets that law enforcement alleged had links to terrorist financing. Binance responded to those requests and provided the requested information.Even after fulfilling the request, Binance conducted a further review. Binance’s investigators engaged in a complex investigation and source of funds analysis. After the conclusion of that investigation, in January 2026, Binance offboarded Blessed Trust. Once again, Binance appropriately investigated and addressed these issues.C. Enhanced Geolocation ControlsYour Letter repeats an allegation from the Wall Street Journal, that “Binance compliance found 2,000 accounts associated with Iranian entities on its cryptocurrency exchange, despite restrictions on Iranian banking and Binance’s claim that it bans Iranian users.” That claim is false. Binance has made no such determination. Binance has strict KYC and compliance procedures in place and bars from the platform users residing or located in Iran. We suspect this claim relates to Binance’s ongoing efforts to further enhance its controls around the use of Virtual Private Networks (“VPNs”). To be clear, identity verification is mandatory for all customers. Binance does not knowingly onboard customers using incomplete or inaccurate documentation. Any attempt to circumvent Binance’s eligibility requirements by using a VPN is a violation of Binance’s terms of service.III. Binance’s Employment Actions were ProperThe Letter refers to media reports regarding the treatment of certain Binance employees who worked on the Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust investigations. That reporting contains significant inaccuracies. Most importantly, none of these employees were terminated because they escalated compliance concerns. While Binance does not share internal information regarding personnel decisions as a matter of employee privacy, it is true that some employees and contractors working in compliance have recently left the Company—most as the result of resignations. In one instance, an employee was terminated after an internal investigation revealed that he had violated company policy regarding the unauthorized disclosure of internal user information. Binance takes seriously the privacy of its users and has no tolerance for employees violating that trust by sharing internal information externally. Binance also closely follows its labor and employment policies. This employment action was no different.IV. ConclusionBinance has a rigorous compliance program that is consistently growing stronger. When there is credible risk information, Binance investigates, mitigates, offboards accounts, and reports to appropriate authorities. With respect to the matters described in the Letter, that compliance process was, in fact, effective. Binance will continue to use its compliance program to protect its users, cooperate with law enforcement, and advance its mission to provide the core infrastructure services for organizing the world’s crypto.The information contained in this response is based on the Company’s best efforts undertaken within the timeframe provided and based on its understanding of the terms of the Letter. The representations made in this response are based on information reasonably available to the Company and may not reflect all existing relevant information. Binance reserves the opportunity to supplement information in this response. In providing information and materials responsive to the Letter, Binance does not waive any rights or legal options relating to the Subcommittee’s inquiry.Binance does not intend to, and does not, waive any applicable privilege, protection or other legal basis under which information may not be subject to production. If it were found that any of the documents or information provided constitutes disclosure of privileged material, such disclosure would be inadvertent. By the provision of such documents and information, Binance does not waive and has not waived the attorney-client privilege or any other protections.