Julia is an experienced editor with a passion for covering a wide variety of beats. She loves all things politics and regularly covers regulatory updates on emerging technology here for Crypto News.
Senator Elizabeth Warren is demanding answers on the nature of Binance’s state of compliance in the U.S., a new letter from Warren and other Democratic senators to Attorney General Pam Bondi published this week reveals.
Elizabeth Warren & Senate Colleagues Push For Answers
According to the September 17 letter, Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Warren are urging the U.S. Department of Justice to “meaningfully answer” their questions regarding the crypto exchange’s compliance regulations stateside.
The U.S. lawmakers initially reached out to the DOJ back in May over the issue, including whether Binance founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao would be seeking a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The senators also queried whether the Trump-affiliated crypto platform World Liberty Financial had discussed “interest in listing a new stablecoin on Binance with any Department of Justice officials.”
However, the senators allege that a September 12 response letter from the DOJ fails to address whether the crypto exchange is “complying” with its ongoing regulatory requirements.
“Since May, President Trump and his family have increased their financial ties to Binance through their company, World Liberty Financial, and just this week, news broke that Binance may be “moving toward a potential deal with the US Justice Department that would allow it to drop” its outside compliance monitor — a “key oversight requirement in its $4.3 billion settlement” with the federal government,” the senators write.
“These reports make it more important than ever that the public understand the Trump Administration’s interactions with, and relationship to, Binance and its employees,” the letter continues.
U.S. Lawmakers Slap DOJ With October 1 Binance Deadline
Binance originally accepted a plea agreement back in November 2023 on Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) violations and failure to register as a money transmitting business.
The crypto exchange agreed to pay $4 billion as a consequence, while Zhao also pled guilty to a criminal charge tied to his time as CEO of Binance.
The senators are giving the DOJ until October 1 to address their concerns over Binance’s compliance status.
