Binance has filed a defamation lawsuit in New York against Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

On April 19 local time, blockchain outlet BeInCrypto reported that Binance claimed a WSJ article published in February contained at least 11 false statements.

The WSJ reported in February that Binance fired employees who raised concerns about more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency transactions linked to Iran-related sanctioned entities. Binance filed the lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York about 2 weeks later.

The filing has drawn attention because New York has strong media protections and anti-SLAPP laws even within the United States. Anti-SLAPP provisions are designed to counter strategic lawsuits intended to pressure an opponent through the burden of litigation rather than winning on the merits. If the WSJ is found to be covered by such provisions, the case could be dismissed early and Binance could be made to pay legal costs.

The bar for proving defamation is also high. Kurram Dara (쿠람 다라), who previously served as a policy adviser at Bain Capital Crypto and Coinbase, explained that it is not enough to show parts of the article were wrong and that it must also be proven that the WSJ knew it was false at the time of publication or recklessly disregarded whether it was true.

If the case proceeds to the merits, Binance's burden could grow. Once the discovery process begins, potential submissions could include internal compliance reports, emails between investigation teams and management, transaction records and materials showing when it became aware of Iran-linked fund flows.

Binance has been overseen by 2 independent government monitors under a criminal settlement in 2023. Amanda Wick (아만다 윅), head of VerifyVASP America, pointed out that it could become a major issue if reports from investigators were ignored or if dismissals were carried out in response.

Some also see it as difficult to view the lawsuit as aimed solely at winning. Binance holds the assets of more than 300 million users, meaning negative coverage can immediately lead to users leaving the platform. Dara said negative headlines can be a major blow in the industry.

Binance also filed a similar defamation lawsuit against Forbes in New Jersey in November 2020, but withdrew it voluntarily after 3 months before trial. The New York filing is seen as both a legal response and a signal that it will not avoid scrutiny of the reporting.