U.S. DOJ Warns: Binance's Cooperation with Law Enforcement Is Declining
N.R. Finch
A DOJ internal memo warns that Binance will impose tougher requirements on asset freezes and seizures; this signals that compliance constraints on the world's largest crypto exchange are loosening — putting the 'full cooperation' pledge from its $4.3 billion settlement to a real test.
What exactly did the DOJ memo say?
DOJ digital-currency legal adviser Rachel Jones sent an internal memo to prosecutors handling crypto cases. The core message: Binance's cooperation will decline going forward.
Specifically, Binance will impose more cumbersome new requirements on prosecutors seeking asset freezes and forfeitures. This means → freezing suspicious on-chain assets will take longer and face higher hurdles.
The memo was copied to Kevin Mosley and other senior prosecutors — Mosley led the 2023 prosecution of Binance.
How did Binance respond?
A Binance spokesperson flatly denied it: "Binance's cooperation with US law enforcement has not changed and will not change."
The spokesperson called any claim of reduced cooperation "untrue."
In plain terms = the DOJ's internal document and Binance's public statement directly contradict each other — one side says cooperation is declining, the other says nothing has changed.
Why does Binance feel emboldened?
The regulatory climate has shifted. After starting his second term in early 2025, Trump pledged a softer stance on federal crypto enforcement and pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao last October.
Then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also issued a department-wide memo ordering an end to "regulation by prosecution" of the crypto industry.
This reflects a broader retreat: federal enforcement appetite has pulled back across the board, and Binance is moving with the tide.
How much does this hurt prosecutors on the ground?
Former DOJ fraud-section assistant chief Scott Armstrong called Binance's new stance "a mountain of obstacles" for prosecutors seeking cooperation.
He put it bluntly: "At best, this is an additional and, frankly, entirely unnecessary hurdle that will create a host of problems in the law-enforcement community."
This means → cases involving sanctions violations and "pig-butchering" scams on Binance's platform will become significantly harder to recover assets from.
Two oversight tracks — heading in opposite directions?
Treasury's monitorship is still active. In June, Treasury-appointed monitor Sharon Cohen Levin hosted an internal meeting with Binance's compliance team; co-CEO Richard Teng delivered opening remarks stressing the importance of cooperating with law enforcement.
DOJ's monitorship has been effectively paused for over a year, and both sides are in active talks to formally end it.
In plain terms = Treasury is still watching; DOJ is nearly out the door. One track tight, the other loose — half of Binance's compliance framework is being dismantled in practice. Whether this trend can coexist with the "full cooperation" pledge from its $4.3 billion settlement is the central question ahead.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.