Key Points
- Binance increased its compliance staff by 34% YoY, amidst crypto’s rapid maturation.
- The exchange continues to strengthen its approach to regulatory compliance.
Binance is working to boost its approach to regulatory compliance, expecting to record a 34% increase since November 2023 in its compliance department.
By the end of the year, Binance expects to have 645 full-time compliance employees on its staff, highlighting a significant surge since last year. So far, the crypto exchange already has over 1,000 employees focused on respecting regulations, including contractors.
The exchange considers this approach necessary amidst a rapidly maturating crypto industry.
Binance’s Focus on Regulation
Binance’s strong focus on regulatory compliance has been intensifying, especially since last year, when it had to pay a $4.3 billion fine to various US regulators for violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).
Last year also marked the departure of the exchange’s co-founder, Changpeng Zhao, from the CEO position and his sentencing to four months in prison for violating the BSA.
His role as the new CEO was taken by Richard Teng, a former regulator in Singapore and the UAE, exactly one year ago.
He just marked the event in a post via X, thanking his team, the supportive community, and users.
Teng has been extremely vocal about the need to make Binance a model of regulatory compliance, a characteristic that he believes is vital to ensure that the company remains sustainable for the long term.
Even if Teng’s new approach as the exchange’s CEO has accelerated Binance’s regulation efforts, the importance of being compliant with regulators was well-known before CZ stepped down in November last year.
Important Names Added to the Compliance Staff
In 2023, Binance increased its compliance spend by 36%, adding important names to its staff, people with long careers in traditional finance and government:
- Tigran Gambaryan, the new head of financial crime compliance, left the IRS in 2021 to join the exchange.
- Todd McElduff, Binance’s new enterprise compliance director, previously led the global financial crimes oversight division at PayPal and was the head of a financial crime division at Morgan Stanley.
- Two special investigations specialists, Céline Inial for France and Caner Akyürek for Turkey have both previously spent almost 20 years in law enforcement in their respective countries.
- Noah Perlman, the exchange’s chief compliance officer started working at Binance in January of last year, after working as Global Head of Financial Crimes at Morgan Stanley and the US Justice Dept.
Perlman recently highlighted the importance of compliance as the entire crypto industry has entered a maturation phase.
Regulatory Compliance is Essential to Binance and Its Users
Perlman said that the crypto industry has entered a new maturation phase and a paradigm shift in which compliance with regulations is vital for the following:
- The best possible user experience
- High level of user protection
- Business success
- Responsible growth
He also highlighted that the exchange has matured alongside regulators and other players in the crypto industry since its debut in 2017, and the continuous growth in terms of compliance is the exchange’s testament to its target of supporting an industry that is set for strong and sustainable growth.
Perlman continued and said that the exchange is actively hiring top compliance talent to strengthen Binance’s program and team so that they match the crypto industry’s rapid development.
Binance and the New Era of Crypto
In a new blog post, Teng reflected on his one year of leading Binance into a new era of crypto, highlighting the exchange’s resilience, its growth milestones, and the new era of responsibility – a process that builds trust, prioritizes cooperation and compliance, and ensures security for everyone.
Looking ahead, Teng sees the crypto industry poised for even greater advancements positioning it for a stronger 2025.
Binance is now the crypto industry’s leader with the highest standards in protecting users who show increased trust in the exchange.
This is best mirrored by the almost 242 million registered users on the platform and the latest achievements marked by the exchange in terms of trading volumes, innovation abilities, and more.
