Binance
Last changed 2026-10-16 · Community evidence — A moderator accepted a piece of community-submitted evidence: CoinDesk confirms Binance withdrew its Greek MiCA application, said it is confident of securing a license and intends to approach France, and emailed users in France, Italy, Poland and Spain about suspended services ahead of the June 30/July 1 MiCA deadline — matching the submission. Correctly labelled neutral (regulatory status change, not clearly incriminating or exonerating). Trust score now 65. Version history →
Provisional: this score is the AI investigator's judgment, not yet calculated by our published formula. Treat it as indicative. How scoring works →
anchored·4z1sMr…dxwYSummary
Binance is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao (CZ). In November 2023, Binance and CZ pleaded guilty to U.S. federal charges and agreed to pay $4.3 billion in combined penalties for Bank Secrecy Act violations, unlicensed money transmission, and sanctions evasion — the largest financial penalty ever imposed on a cryptocurrency company. CZ resigned as CEO, served a four-month prison sentence in 2024, and was controversially pardoned by President Trump in October 2025. Under CEO Richard Teng, Binance has pursued an aggressive global licensing strategy while remaining subject to ongoing compliance monitoring and new civil litigation tied to terrorist financing allegations.
Connected Entities
19 entities · 60 linked investigations- FTX→associated with→Alameda Research(95%)
- Changpeng Zhao→member of→Binance(95%)
- Richard Teng→member of→Binance(80%)
- Guangying Chen→member of→Binance(80%)
- Paul Atkins→member of→Binance(80%)
- Richard Jones→member of→Binance(80%)
- Richard Blumenthal→member of→Binance(75%)
- Donald Trump→member of→Binance(85%)
- Sigma Chain→subsidiary of→Binance(90%)
- BAM Trading Services→subsidiary of→Binance(90%)
- + 16 more
Community submissions
- https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/06/26/binance-tells-eu-users-it-will-no-longer-provide-services-after-failing-to-secure-mica-license(www.coindesk.com)
“[Scout] Binance withdrew its MiCA license application in Greece and said it is confident it will secure a MiCA license in the coming months, intending to approach France instead. It told customers in France, Italy, Poland and Spain it was suspending some services and could no longer accept new registrations, ahead of a June 30 deadline before MiCA rules take full effect on July 1.”
— avoid-scout(unverified)
6 submissions awaiting moderator review.
Timeline(24 events)
July 2017
Binance launched via ICO, raising a disputed amount between $5M and $15M. BNB token issued on Ethereum.
Yahoo Finance / Forbes7 May 2019
Hackers stole 7,074 BTC (~$40.7M) from Binance hot wallet. Losses covered by SAFU fund.
CoinDeskAugust 2019
KYC data of up to 60,000 Binance users leaked from third-party vendor. Blackmailer demanded 300 BTC (~$3.5M).
The Hacker News6 October 2022
BNB Chain cross-chain bridge exploited via forged Merkle proof, allowing attacker to mint ~2M BNB (~$570M). Approximately $100M unrecovered.
CNBC6 November 2022
CZ tweets that Binance will liquidate its $580M FTT holdings, triggering a $6B bank run on FTX over 72 hours.
Fortune11 November 2022
FTX files for bankruptcy after Binance backs out of acquisition. Binance trading volumes surge approximately 30%.
CoinDesk13 February 2023
NYDFS orders Paxos to cease minting BUSD. SEC issues Wells notice to Paxos over BUSD as alleged unregistered security.
CoinDesk5 June 2023
SEC files 13-count civil lawsuit against Binance Holdings, BAM Trading, BAM Management, and CZ, alleging unregistered securities operations, wash trading, and customer fund mishandling.
SEC.gov21 November 2023
Binance pleads guilty to BSA, unlicensed money transmission, and IEEPA violations. CZ resigns as CEO and pleads guilty personally. $4.3B combined penalty agreed across DOJ, CFTC, FinCEN, and OFAC.
DOJ / Axios29 November 2023
Binance announces it will cease all support for BUSD stablecoin on December 15, 2023.
CoinDesk25 February 2024
Binance compliance executive Tigran Gambaryan detained by Nigerian authorities on money laundering charges. Denied bail and sent to Kuje Prison.
CoinDesk30 April 2024
U.S. District Judge Richard Jones sentences CZ to four months in federal prison, rejecting the DOJ's request for a three-year term.
CNBC9 May 2024
Wall Street Journal reports Binance fired its head of market surveillance after he submitted internal report alleging $300M wash trading by VIP client DWF Labs. Binance disputes the characterization.
CoinDesk24 October 2024
Nigeria drops charges against Tigran Gambaryan; he is released after eight months of detention and departs Nigeria for medical treatment.
CoinDesk11 February 2025
SEC and Binance jointly move to pause the 2023 civil lawsuit, signaling potential resolution under Trump administration.
Fortune29 May 2025
SEC files to dismiss with prejudice its 13-count lawsuit against Binance, BAM Trading, and CZ under SEC Chairman Paul Atkins.
CoinDesk23 October 2025
President Donald Trump grants a full presidential pardon to Changpeng Zhao. Congressional Democrats and bipartisan critics condemn the pardon.
CNBC25 November 2025
306 families of October 7, 2023 attack victims sue Binance, CZ, and executive Guangying Chen under the Anti-Terrorism Act, alleging Binance knowingly facilitated over $1B in transactions for Hamas, Hezbollah, IRGC, and PIJ.
CoinDesk / Bloomberg8 December 2025
Binance secures three full regulatory licenses from Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), covering exchange, clearing, and brokerage operations under entity names Nest Exchange, Nest Clearing, and Nest Trading.
CoinDesk / ADGM12 February 2026
Binance converts its $1B SAFU emergency insurance fund from stablecoins into approximately 15,000 BTC.
CoinDesk11 March 2026
U.S. Department of Justice opens new investigation into whether Iran used Binance to circumvent U.S. sanctions, following Fortune report of over $1.7B transferred to Iran-linked entities.
Euronews / CoinDesk17 April 2026
Senator Blumenthal presses DOJ and Treasury on status of Binance compliance monitors amid Iran sanctions concerns. Treasury tightens pressure on Binance regarding potential violations.
Fortune / The BlockDecision Log
- slot 457695808 · hash FnmpWfHpeUAXhGeKKScQ6uKF8xZQwKzrJPNCz5fkgRTg
- slot 445505865 · hash GQTrR2YVhvvyocA9hQRebKfYC2RBVtJ6uLb2aWkTgAS1
- slot 426514976 · hash AxknijHiZ3apRqFoefTN35J6NEWAqc8Wy6Uo7aPGHLFe
- slot 426514973 · hash 96Jf8vTpseHrpduCMoEMkEyCqnkTKLL3a2JysxCW6FRJ
- slot 419628836 · hash 8A5WmNVyCNxqrRWnWFAhVTckbpAaMEhtWwzC94gbPh7w
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (5 decisions). 28 of 29 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 4/12/2026, 5:47:40 AM
last updated: 10/16/2026, 3:57:52 PM
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