Binance spent 36% more on compliance in 2023 than it did the previous year.
The Binance crypto exchange aims to boost its full-time compliance staff to 645 by the end of 2024. This is according to a Friday press statement released by the firm.
According to the world’s largest crypto exchange, this would represent a 34% increase from the number of staff it had in this department as of last November. Notably, Binance continues to eye the possibility of building the world’s largest compliance team, and the numbers suggest that that ambition might not be far from reality.
Presently, the firm’s compliance department already boasts over 1,000 employees. However, some of them are just contracted staff.
Binance Focuses on Regulatory Compliance
Meanwhile, it might be worth noting that Binance’s efforts on compliance are relatively new. Possibly because of its troubles in that area, the crypto exchange has seen a continuous need to adjust itself in this regard.
Just a year ago, Binance was caught in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). When the exchange was alleged to have knowingly allowed users to bypass international sanctions. As a result, Binance had to enter an agreement to pay a whopping $4.3 billion fine to various US regulators. The agreement deal also included then-CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) stepping down from his role as CEO and serving a prison term of four months earlier this year.
Since this incident, Binance has shown itself to be extremely focused on regulatory compliance. However, compliance efforts on the part of Binance actually began even before CZ’s replacement with Richard Teng, a former regulator. The firm had been recruiting experts in the field since as far back as 2021 when Tigran Gambaryan left the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to join the exchange. Noah Perlman was also onboarded to the team as Binance’s chief compliance officer in January 2023.
According to company records, Binance spent 36% more on compliance in 2023 than it did the previous year.
Looking Ahead
Notably, Binance has recently been employing people with long careers in traditional finance and government (including law enforcement agencies). With the level of experience that these personnel bring, it is clear what the firm is looking at. Perlman said in part:
“Binance has matured alongside regulators and other players throughout the years, and the continued growth of our compliance team and program are a testament to that.”
Despite the firm’s significant progress so far, Binance is keen on hiring more hands. Perlman admitted that Binance already has an industry-leading compliance program. However, the firm is not prepared to relent, he said.
In line with this, Binance has assured that it is actively still hiring top compliance talent to strengthen the compliance program.
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