Binance, Tether and Trump-Tied Crypto Firms Get January 4 Deadline From Senator

Senator Richard Blumenthal wants answers. The Connecticut Democrat has handed Binance, Tether, World Liberty Financial and Fight Fight Fight LLC a January 4 deadline to turn over outstanding records, warning that continued stonewalling could push Congress toward tougher investigative tools. The renewed document requests landed in a November 5 announcement, according to Coinpaper.

Binance's slice of the probe centers on allegations the exchange greased transactions for sanctioned networks tied to Iran and Russia. Back in February, Blumenthal asked for details on roughly $1.7 billion in transactions linked to those networks — a demand that stacked on top of earlier scrutiny of the exchange's anti-money-laundering controls. He has also pressed whether Binance actually lived up to the compliance promises baked into its past US settlements.

Tether is being questioned separately over USDT's role in Iranian finance. A September report from Blumenthal's office alleged the stablecoin had become a pillar of Iran's shadow banking system, and an October investigation raised fresh questions about payments involving a consulting firm tied to a former White House crypto official. Both companies have not been found to have committed criminal violations — these are allegations and congressional findings, not established crimes.

The other two recipients are tangled up with the Trump orbit. World Liberty Financial and Fight Fight Fight LLC face new demands over their financial ties to the Trump family and to foreign investors. Blumenthal opened his investigation in May 2025, looking at potential conflicts around World Liberty Financial and the TRUMP cryptocurrency, including ownership structures, foreign money and whether government decisions translated into financial upside. A reported $500 million investment in World Liberty Financial linked to the United Arab Emirates cranked the heat up further, prompting congressional worries about foreign influence — and separate requests from other lawmakers for federal investigations into the national-security implications.

World Liberty Financial's banking ambitions haven't escaped notice either, drawing scrutiny over conflicts of interest and regulatory oversight. In his latest letters, Blumenthal told both firms to start producing records by November 30, with January 4 as the line in the sand before further measures get weighed. His November 5 warning, on its own, doesn't authorize subpoenas or slap penalties on anyone.

Timing matters here. Blumenthal is preparing to take the helm of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, a panel with the power to hold hearings, demand documents and pursue compulsory investigative processes through Senate procedures. The standoff also plays out against a wider congressional brawl over crypto regulation, including lingering questions about SEC enforcement against major digital asset firms and past legislative concerns over crypto policy bumping up against Trump-family business interests.