Binance, Tether and WLFI: Senate Demands Records by January

US Senator Richard Blumenthal sets January 4, 2027 as the deadline to obtain documents from Binance, Tether, World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and Fight Fight Fight LLC. In letters dated November 5, 2026, the future chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) demands their cooperation in several investigations related to crypto activities. The companies must begin submitting their documents on November 30. Failing this, the senator considers other measures to obtain the requested information.

What does the US Senate demand from Binance, Tether and WLFI?

In letters dated November 5, 2026, Democratic Senator from Connecticut Richard Blumenthal renews his document requests. They target :

• the crypto exchange Binance;
• Tether;
• World Liberty Financial (WLFI);
• Fight Fight Fight LLC, the crypto company behind the TRUMP memecoin.

These crypto companies must confirm receipt by November 9, start producing by November 30, and complete submission by January 4, 2027. In the absence of voluntary submission, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) will have to consider “alternative measures”.

According to the letters sent to Binance and Tether, no documents have been produced in 18 months. So far, the four aforementioned crypto companies have not commented.

Crypto Investigation in the Senate: Why January 4, 2027 Is an Important Deadline

Richard Blumenthal signs these letters as a member of the minority, while his office presents him as future chairman of the PSI. The Democrats won the majority in the Senate in the November 3 midterm elections. This new majority will take office in January 2027, when Richard Blumenthal is expected to become chairman of the PSI.

The committee rules authorize its chairman to issue subpoenas, i.e., orders to produce documents. However, the letters do not specify which measure would be taken.

Regarding Binance, the senator relies on investigations by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Fortune. They mention $1.7 billion in transfers to entities linked to Iran. In response, the crypto platform claims to have directly traded only $110,000 with four Iranian platforms in one year. The senator thus considers this figure hard to reconcile with the reports and requests the methodology. Binance has obviously disputed these articles since March.

For the crypto company Tether, a PSI minority report published on September 28 describes USDT as a “financial lifeline” for Iran’s parallel banking network. A letter dated October 22 also raises questions about payments to Nxum, a company co-founded by Bo Hines: $415,000 per month and more than $6 million in total, according to the Wall Street Journal. However, these are allegations reported, not judicial findings.

Tether: A Major Player in the Crypto Stablecoin Market

For some crypto analysts, the issue is also financial. According to DefiLlama, the USDT capitalization reached about $176.8 billion on November 9, 2026. The platform shows a 71.65% dominance of the stablecoin market.

No jurisdiction has concluded that the crypto exchange Binance or Tether violated sanctions. No subpoena also appears in the file. The letters therefore request evidence, without issuing a verdict. They do not target the technical functioning of USDT or USD1 either.

January 4, 2027 thus constitutes a crucial deadline. In the absence of voluntary submission of documents, Richard Blumenthal warns that the subcommittee may consider other means to obtain their communication. It remains to be seen whether Binance, Tether and Trump-linked crypto entities will produce their documents as of November 30, and which measure the subcommittee will then take. To be continued…