Former Binance CEO CZ waves off accusations on Iran, terror ties
The founder of the world's largest exchange distanced himself from reports about Binance activity that reports had recently suggested aided terrorism.
By Jesse Hamilton|Edited by Nikhilesh De Mar 18, 2026, 3:48 p.m.
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What to know:
- Changpeng "CZ” Zhao, the founder and former CEO of global crypto exchange Binance, argued that accusations the platform acted as a conduit for Iranian transactions don't make sense.
- Zhao spoke remotely at a Washington event to say he has "zero interest" in being involved with Iran, which recently attacked the country he lives in.
Changpeng "CZ” Zhao embraced a chance to distance himself from recent accusations against Binance that it has been involved in handling transactions that potentially enabled terrorism financing in Iran.
"I have zero interest in doing that," said the founder and former chief executive of the exchange, who agreed to leave his company under a criminal settlement with the U.S. "I live in a country that's being attacked by Iran. Even before that, I was just not interested in that," he said in a video appearance at the Digital Chamber's DC Blockchain Summit on Wednesday.
CZ, a resident of the United Arab Emirates, cited a couple of civil lawsuits recently dismissed in U.S. courts that had accused Binance of acting as a conduit for terrorism financing. He also argued that the Iran-tied transactions in question don't generate fees and wouldn't offer any business attraction for the firm to get involved in.
"There's no benefit," CZ, who'd served a prison sentence and received a pardon from President Donald Trump, said in defense of the implications against his former company.
Binance, the largest global crypto exchange that had settled U.S. anti-money-laundering and sanctions-violation accusations in 2023, sued the Wall Street Journal last week for reporting that it had fired compliance personnel who'd flagged suspicious transactions that may have violated sanctions. Internal investigators had allegedly flagged more than $1 billion in crypto transfers from Chinese clients into wallets linked to Iranian financing networks.
The company has asserted that it couldn't find evidence that accounts on its platforms had transacted directly with Iranian entities.
CZ, who is close to launching a memoir he'd worked on during his time in prison, said he's been targeted by false accusations.
"The way they're attacking, they're completely using false, baseless information," he said.
Read More: Binance tells Senate probe no accounts sent crypto directly to Iran
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