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Senate Democrats are demanding answers from the Trump administration following reports of behind-the-scenes meetings between Treasury Department officials and executives from the heavily enforced against crypto giant.
“We are writing with concerns about recent reports of meetings between Binance executives and officials from the Treasury Department,” Senators Chris Van Hollen, Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Mazie Hirono said in a letter, on May 9, 2025.
The letter, which went to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pamela Bondi, expresses deep concern over the nature of these discussions, especially in light of Binance’s previous criminal violations and recent business entanglements with the Trump family.
The senators cited an April Wall Street Journal report detailing that Binance is seeking to curtail US oversight, a condition of its 2023 guilty plea and settlement over charges including money laundering, sanctions violations, and facilitating illicit transactions with terrorist groups such as Hamas and ISIS.
The lawmakers also questioned recent developments suggesting a convergence between Binance and the Trump family’s crypto firm, World Liberty Financial (WLF).
In March, Eric Trump and WLF co-founder Zach Witkoff, whose father is the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, announced a $2bn deal between Binance and the UAE-backed investment firm MGX, using WLF’s newly launched stablecoin, USD1.
This move, the senators warn, could create a pipeline for foreign actors to gain political influence through commercial ties with the Trump family.
The nature of the relationship
In the letter, the Senators asked for information on the Trump administration’s relationship with Binance and Binance.US, requesting answers on:
- The steps that the Treasury and the Department of Justice have taken to maintain mandatory compliance with Binance, as required by its plea agreements.
- The status of Binance’s pending exit from the US, information related to the actions taken so far, and an updated timeline on when the company’s complete exit from the country can be anticipated.
- Whether Binance raised the topic of a potential pardon for former CEO Changpeng Zhao with any Treasury or Department of Justice officials and, if so, what the context of that conversation was.
- Whether the topic of WLF or its interest in listing a new stablecoin on Binance was raised with any Treasury or Department of Justice officials and the context of that conversation.
“While the President’s family expands its investments in cryptocurrency – and the President himself offers personal access to the top holders of his meme coin – his administration has also taken steps to reduce oversight and regulations on cryptocurrency, including disbanding a unit in the Department of Justice tasked with investigating crypto-related fraud activity and halting what this administration’s Department of Justice has referred to as a ‘reckless strategy of regulation by prosecution,’” the letter says.
The Senators also suggested that as “the Administration loosens oversight on an industry where bad actors have violated money laundering and sanctions law, it is not surprising that Binance, which has admitted to prioritising its own growth and profits over compliance with U.S. law, would seek to roll back the oversight required by its settlement”.
The letter also notes an ongoing lawsuit in the Southern District of New York, in which victims of the October 7 Hamas attack allege that Binance knowingly facilitated terrorist financing between 2017 and 2023.
The senators have requested a full response by May 21, stating that Binance’s continued operations on US soil, despite its settlement and stated intention to exit the market, raise serious national security and legal concerns.
Choosing Binance over Biden
The letter from the Democrats is unsurprisingly partisan, but reveals the deep unease that continues to permeate in some circles regarding Republicans’ newfound enthusiasm for crypto.
This Trump administration’s embrace of the sector contrasts with the approach of the previous administration.
Under President Biden, the attitudes of key players such as Gary Gensler, who was a vocal critic of the crypto industry, led leaders in the space to accuse the authorities of “Operation Chokepoint”, a plot to debank crypto firms and keep them out of the financial services sector.
The disbanding of the Department of Justice’s crypto enforcement unit and the administration’s criticism of regulation by prosecution also reflect a clear departure from Biden-era oversight, which emphasised aggressive enforcement and international compliance, such as with the Binance settlement.
Binance has faced regulatory scrutiny not just in the US, but elsewhere, including the Netherlands, where it was fined, and France, where an investigation by regulators is thought to be underway.
In addition, regulators in Germany and the UK have also warned the company not to undertake regulated activities.
Despite the apparent warming of the US’ attitude, it seems unlikely that regulators in other jurisdictions will be happy to welcome Binance back into the fold.
