Binance (group of companies and platform)

Binance is an international brand and platform for operations with digital assets, whose services are provided by several legal entities. Since 5 January 2026 the regulated activities of the global Binance.com platform have been distributed, within the ADGM structure, among Nest Exchange Limited, Nest Clearing and Custody Limited, and Nest Trading Limited; for certain countries, products, and customer categories other service providers may apply. Legal events in Binance’s history relate to specific legal entities of the group. The service’s functions, fees, and security measures are covered in the Binance review.

Legal history

• On 21 November 2023 Binance Holdings Limited pleaded guilty to US federal charges related to the Bank Secrecy Act, failure to register as a money transmitting business, and sanctions law. As part of the agreement with the DOJ, the company agreed to forfeiture and a criminal fine totaling 4,316,126,163 dollars. The settlement was coordinated with actions of FinCEN, OFAC, and the CFTC. Changpeng Zhao separately pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective AML program and stepped down as CEO.
• On 30 April 2024 Zhao was sentenced to four months of imprisonment and a fine of 50 million dollars.
• On 29 May 2025 the SEC and the defendants jointly filed a procedural document dismissing, with a waiver of re-asserting the same claims (a joint stipulation to dismiss with prejudice), the separate civil case against Binance Holdings Limited, BAM Trading Services, BAM Management US Holdings, and Changpeng Zhao. This is a separate event; it did not cancel the guilty plea of Binance Holdings Limited in the 2023 criminal case.
• On 21 October 2025 Changpeng Zhao received a full and unconditional presidential pardon in his federal criminal case. The published act names Zhao and his individual case; Binance Holdings Limited is not named in the document.