Binance's 97.3% Iran cleanup figure starts from a $4.19 million base
Manhattan prosecutors are examining whether Binance knowingly allowed trading that breached US sanctions on Iran, and the compliance numbers the exchange offers in response cover four named venues and about $4 million of flow.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- Binance is not a party to that forfeiture case, and chief executive Richard Teng has said the complaint does not allege wrongdoing by the exchange.
- Binance says its direct exposure to four major Iranian exchanges fell 97.3% over two years, from $4.19 million to $110,000, and that users located in Iran are barred.
- Binance and then-chief executive Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023, with more than $4.3 billion in penalties and a three-year independent compliance monitor attached.
Why it matters
- Who's exposed exposure TRM Labs puts foreign institutions that need US market access inside the secondary sanctions perimeter, so the cost of routing size through a venue under active review is borne by the institution's own banking relationships, not by the venue.
- What it limits constraint Reallocating away from a venue holding 38.7% of top-ten share means splitting flow across nine books averaging about 6.8% each. That prices as worse execution.
- Who has to decide decision Any desk that wants comfort has to decide whether a metric covering about 0.45% of the flow the Justice Department described in 2023 answers the question its compliance committee is actually asking.
- What doesn't add up contradiction Cryptopolitan credits Reuters for the same division of prosecutorial labour that Cointelegraph credits to Bloomberg, so a reader tracking how many outlets have independently confirmed the probe should count carefully.
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Binance's answer to the sanctions question is a ratio built on a small base. The exchange says its direct exposure to four major Iranian exchanges fell 97.3% over two years, from $4.19 million to $110,000 [21]. That is a decline of about $4.08 million [25]. In the 2023 settlement, the Justice Department said Binance had facilitated more than $898 million in trades between US users and Iran-based users from 2018 to 2022 [20]. So the flow the exchange has cut is roughly half a percent of the conduct prosecutors described [26]. Binance supplied the figures [22].
Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York say Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale used Binance accounts to move money to the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [11]. They say self-custodied wallets grouped as "Entity A" received and distributed more than $1.5 billion in illicit oil proceeds [18]. The forfeiture case that preceded the probe does not describe exchange-to-exchange traffic. The roughly $61 million the complaint seeks is about 4% of that network [28]. Binance is not a party [12], and chief executive Richard Teng said the complaint "was not filed against @binance and does not allege any wrongdoing by Binance" [13]. Binance says both accounts were removed after internal investigations [16].
For an institution, the constraint is depth. Cryptopolitan, which does not date the reading [24], cites CoinGecko putting Binance at 38.7% of the market share of the top ten centralized exchanges [23]. That leaves 61.3% split across the other nine, an average of about 6.8% each [29]. TRM Labs says the Treasury action of August 24 brought five sectoral determinations under Executive Order 13902, covering digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping [14]. It says that action raises secondary sanctions risk for institutions processing large transactions for Iranian exchanges or digital-asset firms, including foreign institutions that need access to US financial markets [19].
Cointelegraph attributes the new detail to Bloomberg, which reported Tuesday that the Manhattan US Attorney's Office is examining whether Binance knowingly allowed trading that violated Iran sanctions [1]. The same report has the Justice Department's Criminal Division in Washington also involved [2]. Cryptopolitan attributes the same division of labour to Reuters [3]. The underlying probe was first reported in March by the Wall Street Journal, which said it was unclear whether the DOJ was investigating Binance, its users, or both [7]. Binance told Cointelegraph then that it was not aware of any DOJ investigation [8]. This week a Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph: "We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations. We fully cooperate with law enforcement, and we remain committed to rooting out and shutting down bad actors" [4]. The Justice Department declined to comment [9].
The 2023 plea also came with more than $4.3 billion in penalties and a three-year independent compliance monitor [15], a term that on those dates lapses in 2026 [27]. Cointelegraph reports a US senator has asked for an update on that monitor [17].
I'd expect the monitor decision to move institutional behaviour before any charge does, because a compliance officer can act on a lapsed or extended monitorship and cannot act on an open inquiry. The counter-case is straightforward: Cointelegraph notes an investigation does not establish wrongdoing and may conclude without charges [6], in which case 38.7% share goes unbothered and this is legal expense. Evidence against my view would be venue distribution holding flat through a monitor extension.
What to watch
- Whether the three-year compliance monitor from the 2023 plea is extended or lapses in 2026, and what the senator's requested update says.
- Whether the Southern District of New York amends the $61 million forfeiture complaint to name Binance, or brings charges against the exchange.
- Whether CoinGecko's top-ten share reading for Binance moves off 38.7% in the months after the probe was reported.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
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- [1]
The Manhattan US Attorney's Office is investigating whether Binance knowingly allowed trading that violated US sanctions on Iran, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
- [2]
The Justice Department's Criminal Division in Washington is also involved in the investigation, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
- [3]
Reuters has reported that the investigation is being led by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office as well as the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.
- [4]
A Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph: "We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations. We fully cooperate with law enforcement, and we remain committed to rooting out and shutting down bad actors."
- [5]
Binance's statement did not directly address whether the company is aware of the reported investigation.
- [6]
An investigation does not establish wrongdoing and may conclude without charges being filed.
- [7]
In March the Wall Street Journal reported that the DOJ was examining whether Iran used Binance to evade US sanctions, citing company documents and people familiar with the matter, and said it was unclear whether the DOJ was investigating Binance itself, its users, or both.
- [8]
Binance told Cointelegraph in March that it was not aware of any DOJ investigation.
- [9]
The Justice Department refused to comment on the matter.
- [10]
Days before the probe was reported, the Southern District of New York filed a civil forfeiture complaint for about $61 million in cryptocurrency purportedly related to illegal transactions involving Iranian oil subject to sanctions.
- [11]
According to prosecutors, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale used Binance accounts to transfer money to the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
- [12]
Binance is not a party in the civil forfeiture case.
- [13]
Binance CEO Richard Teng said the complaint "was not filed against @binance and does not allege any wrongdoing by Binance."
- [14]
On August 24 the Treasury Department initiated Operation Economic Outcast; the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned almost 60 entities, individuals and vessels associated with Iran and made five sectoral determinations under Executive Order 13902 covering digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.
- [15]
Binance and then-CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2023; Binance agreed to more than $4.3 billion in penalties and a three-year independent compliance monitor.
- [16]
Binance says users residing or located in Iran are prohibited, and that Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust were removed after internal investigations.
- [17]
Cointelegraph reports that a US senator has asked for an update on the Binance compliance monitor amid scrutiny of Iran sanctions.
- [18]
The complaint reports that a group of self-custodied wallets under the name "Entity A" received and distributed over $1.5 billion in illicit oil funds.
- [19]
According to TRM Labs, the Treasury action raises the risk of secondary sanctions for institutions that process large transactions for Iranian exchanges or firms engaged in digital assets, including foreign institutions that need to access US financial markets.
- [20]
The Justice Department said Binance had facilitated more than $898 million in trades between US users and Iran-based users from 2018 to 2022.
- [21]
Binance says its direct exposure to four major Iranian exchanges fell 97.3% over two years, from $4.19 million to $110,000.
- [22]
Binance says its direct exposure to major illicit-flow categories fell 96% between January 2023 and June 2025; those figures come from Binance itself.
- [23]
Binance reportedly comprised 38.7% of the market share of the top ten centralized exchanges, as reported by CoinGecko.
- [24]
Cryptopolitan attributes the 38.7% top-ten market share figure to CoinGecko without giving a date for the measurement.
- [25]
The two-year fall Binance reports in direct exposure to four major Iranian exchanges is about $4.08 million.
- [26]
The $4.08 million reduction Binance reports is about 0.45% of the $898 million in US-Iran trades the Justice Department said it had facilitated from 2018 to 2022.
- [27]
A three-year monitor term dated from the 2023 settlement expires in 2026.
- [28]
The roughly $61 million sought in the forfeiture complaint is about 4% of the more than $1.5 billion prosecutors say the Entity A wallets received and distributed.
- [29]
If Binance holds 38.7% of top-ten centralized exchange market share, the other nine venues hold 61.3% between them, an average of about 6.8% each.
- [30]
Cryptopolitan says that if compliance concerns lead to caution among institutions dealing with Binance, the reaction may have repercussions for liquidity, counterparty selection and the distribution of trading activity in the market.
Sources
3 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cointelegraph.comManhattan US Attorney leading probe into Binance’s Iran compliance: Bloomberg
1 article · September 21, 2026
- cryptopolitan.comBinance faces DOJ probe as Iran sanctions crackdown widens
1 article · September 22, 2026
- decrypt.coUS Probes Whether Binance 'Knowingly' Let Iran-Linked Trades Through: Report
1 article · September 22, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Crypto Sanctions Compliance
- Iran Sanctions and Economic Isolation
- Crypto Exchange Law Enforcement Exposure