Democrats demand Binance, Tether, and Trump's crypto business to 'voluntarily' cooperate with investigation; the first order of business for the new Congress is to crack down on Trump's crypto forces.

BlockBeats news, November 9 — U.S. Senate Democratic senior lawmaker Richard Blumenthal sent a new round of letters on November 5 to Binance, USDT issuer Tether, World Liberty Financial, and Fight Fight Fight LLC (the issuing entity of the Trump meme coin TRUMP), requesting that these companies voluntarily submit previously requested investigative records and information by January 4, 2027.

The January 4 deadline is highly symbolic: it falls exactly one day after the new Congress is formally convened (January 3, 2027). After Democrats won majorities in both the Senate and House in the November 3 midterm elections, Blumenthal is expected to become chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Currently serving as ranking member, he can only issue voluntary cooperation requests; once he becomes chairman, the subcommittee will have the power to compel documents and subpoena witnesses.

The letters explicitly warn: "If the requested records and information are not voluntarily provided by January 4, 2027, the subcommittee will have no choice but to consider other measures to ensure compliance." The industry widely interprets this as leaving room for possible subsequent subpoenas.

World Liberty Financial and Fight Fight Fight LLC were asked to begin submitting materials as early as November 30, while the final deadline for all four companies is January 4. The investigation focuses primarily on the following areas:

· Binance: Attention on previously reported approximately $1.7 billion in Iran-linked transfers, sanctions compliance, and its partnership with World Liberty Financial's stablecoin USD1, as well as the background of Binance founder CZ receiving a presidential pardon from Trump.

· Tether: Focus on the use of its USDT stablecoin in Iranian shadow banking networks, and related payments to Nxum, a consulting firm co-founded by former White House crypto adviser Bo Hines (reported to exceed $6 million, occurring while Hines was still in government service).

· The Trump family's crypto business: Including World Liberty Financial's foreign investments (such as UAE-related funds), potential conflicts of interest, and ethical and compliance issues related to the TRUMP coin. Blumenthal previously opened a related investigation in May 2025 and held a public forum in July 2026.