The legal battle is heating up. Binance has filed a defamation lawsuit, and the Wall Street Journal

Binance Sues WSJ Over Iran Sanctions Story, Says Compliance Risk Dropped 97%

The legal battle is heating up. Binance has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over a February 23 report that alleged the DOJ is investigating whether Iran used the exchange to skirt U.S. sanctions. Binance calls the story false and says it's already caused real damage—prompting what it views as baseless government inquiries.

"This lawsuit is a necessary step to defend ourselves against misinformation," said Dugan Bliss, Binance's global litigation chief. "The WSJ sacrificed journalistic integrity for clicks."

The Journal's report claimed investigators are looking into funds flowing through Binance to networks backing Iran-backed groups, including Yemen's Houthis. Officials have reached out to witnesses. What's unclear? Whether the probe targets Binance itself or just its users.

Bliss also pushed back on the broader narrative: "This kind of reporting erodes trust across the industry and undermines the people actually trying to protect users." Binance points to its compliance machine—1,500+ employees (nearly 25% of staff) handling risk, investigations, and sanctions work, with specialists trained in on-chain tracing and counter-terror financing.

The numbers back the talk. Binance says its sanctions-related exposure dropped 96.8% between January 2024 and July 2025. Direct exposure to major Iranian crypto exchanges? Down 97.3%—from $4.19 million to just $110,000.