Binance ramps up compliance efforts with 1,000 new hires

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has revealed its plans to hire 1,000 new staff members this year. The decision comes after the exchange spent over $200 million to meet regulatory requirements.

During his visit to the United States, Binance CEO, Richard Teng, sat down with Bloomberg and spoke about the company’s employment goals. The exchange revealed that they are hiring 1,000 staff members, particularly for compliance roles in the exchange.

Binance’s regulatory expenditure tops $200 million this year

Teng stated that the exchange’s annual spending for meeting regulatory requirements had crossed $200 million. The $200 million expenditure also includes the United States plea deal.

During his interview in New York, Teng said that he has been a regulator all his life. He also added that government agencies are important. Before his appointment as Binance CEO, Teng served as a senior regulator at the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Additionally, he served as an Abu Dhabi international financial center’s chief executive officer.

However, Teng didn’t disclose whether he met with the SEC officials during this visit. The company’s expansion was also triggered by the exchange’s $4.3 billion settlement with the US Department of Justice and other agencies.

Binance envisions 700-strong compliance workforce by year end

Teng stated that the exchange plans to have a 700-member, strong compliance workforce by the end of this year. The number of compliance staff currently stands at 500.

The Binance CEO highlighted that the number of law-enforcement requests from global agencies has spiked to 63,000 in 2024. This is noticeably up from last year’s 58,000 requests. Teng noted that compliance expenditures have ramped up from $158 million two years ago. He also added that they are set to increase further.

“They’re going to do an assessment.” “We’re very early in the journey,” Teng said regarding the monitors appointed by the US agencies who have already started their work. He added that they analyze the firm’s transaction tracking and financial statements.

While talking about the establishment of a global headquarters, Binance CEO said that Dubai, Abu Dhabi and one more city are on the short list of potential locations for the headquarters. He also added that the business is doing decently in terms of profit.