Binance Defends Crypto Compliance Program After $1B USDT Iran Claims

Highlights:

• Binance has defended its crypto compliance while it expands its oversight team and law enforcement coordination.
• The company stated that sanctions exposure is just 0.009% of the trading volume of the company.
• A Fortune report recently claimed that the company was linked to a $1B USDT activity in Iran.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has reported a sharp decline in sanctions-related exposure. The company said sanctioned exposure now accounts for 0.009% of total trading volume. In early 2024, that figure stood near 0.28%. Binance said the decline reflects a reduction of roughly 96.8% to 97%.

LATEST: BINANCE CUTS SANCTIONS EXPOSURE BY 97%@Binance says exposure to sanctioned entities has dropped to 0.009% of total volume.

The exchange claims a 97% reduction since January 2024.

Direct exposure to four top Iranian exchanges fell over 97%.

Figures dropped from… pic.twitter.com/ZhmzMJF15W

— BSCN (@BSCNews) February 23, 2026

The exchange also responded to direct exposure to four large Iranian crypto exchanges. It reported associated flows reduced to approximately $110,000 by January this year, compared to $4.19 million in January two years ago. Executives said measurable data should guide the compliance debate. They linked the drop to expanded transaction surveillance and risk controls. Binance added that it increased oversight in high-risk jurisdictions.

Iran USDT Report Sparks Questions

The update came after an inquiry by Fortune into the company. The report referred to unnamed sources and internal reports that claimed that over $1 billion worth of USDT affiliated with Iranian organizations was transferred via the platform. The alleged transactions transpired between March 2024 and August last year.

Fortune also mentioned that at least five internal investigators exited the company. The article asserted that such workers expressed concerns regarding possible breaches of sanctions. The accusations rekindled criticism related to the prior regulatory record of Binance.

Binance denied the claims. The company argued that no investigator had left and raised compliance issues. Instead, it announced that it had lost some of its compliance workers after internal audits. It linked the exit of the employees to breaches of data protection and confidentiality policies in the company.

This inquiry is associated with a 2023 settlement between Binance and the U.S. regulators. The SEC fined the exchange $4.3 billion due to prior compliance violations. Since that time, Binance stated that it has strengthened its regulatory framework. Reuters had earlier reported that even after the restrictions were put in place, Iranian users were trading on the site.

Binance Defends Crypto Compliance and Expands Oversight Measures

Binance claimed that it has over 1,500 compliance officers all over the world. That figure constitutes approximately a quarter of its worldwide labor force. The company reported that it had spent hundreds of millions of dollars on compliance programs and monitoring systems.

The exchange widened its exchange monitoring instruments and improved its sanctions screening technology. It also reinforced internal governance and risk controls. Binance stated that it is licensed in approximately 20 jurisdictions. It identified those approvals as part of its regulatory activity.

In its blog post, the company stated, “The facts are these: Binance’s compliance program is effective, and it worked here. Any statement to the contrary is wrong.” The statement addressed the recent media claims directly. Founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao echoed that position publicly. He stated that the company has provided data to back its position.

Some media uses negative narratives (from fired employees).

Binance uses data.

Best compliance program in the industry, by far!https://t.co/oJUT0vWDjB https://t.co/hoT0qpE9ln

— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) February 23, 2026

Binance also emphasized that it collaborates with international law enforcement authorities. It said that it received more than 71,000 law enforcement requests last year. According to the company, it assisted the authorities in recovering over $131 million linked to illicit action.