Binance’s CEO admits ‘compliance is a journey’ amid the growing regulatory crackdown worldwide

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao posted an open letter outlining Binance’s plans regarding the current crypto regulatory landscape, which followed the rise of the global regulation pressure on Binance.

“Binance has grown very quickly and we haven’t always got everything exactly right, but we are learning and improving every day,” Zhao said in a blog post. “We hope to clarify and reiterate our commitment to partner with regulators, and that we are pro-actively hiring more talent, putting in place more systems and processes to protect our users.”

“More regulations are, in fact, positive signs that an industry is maturing, because this sets the foundation for a broader population to feel safe to participate in crypto,” Zhao wrote. “I believe a well-developed legal and regulatory framework in the long term will be a solid foundation that truly makes crypto essential in everyone’s daily life.”

Zhao’s letter followed the raising regulation pressure on Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, across the world. Regulators of the Cayman Islands, Japan, Thailand, the U.K., and the U.S.  issuing warnings or launching investigations into Binance’s operations.

“Compliance is a journey — especially in new sectors like crypto. The industry still has a lot of uncertainty,” Binance CEO added. “We also recognize that with the growth comes more complexity and more responsibility.”

As Zhao wrote, Binance has grown its international compliance team by 500% since 2020 with key appointments including former FATF Executive Secretary Rick McDonell, former Head of the Canadian delegation to the FATF Josée Nadeau, and Max Baucus, the former U.S. senator for Montana and a former U.S. ambassador to China, to guide the company’s global compliance and regulatory strategies. Also, Binance is expanding its compliance partnerships and localizing its activity to comply with local regulations, for example, in the United States.

Binance also hiring Jonathan Farnell, the former eToro Money U.K. director of compliance, as director of compliance to oversee regulatory compliance in Europe.

“Jonathan is a very accomplished compliance professional who brings vital expertise in the development of regulated products that will be an enormous asset to Binance,” said in a statement Samuel Lim, chief compliance officer at Binance. “We are committed to meeting our compliance obligations everywhere we operate and bringing Jonathan on board is a significant step forwards in developing our team.”

In recent weeks, Binance has suffered a series of hits. A U.K. affiliate has been the subject of a crackdown by the Financial Conduct Authority, which caused Barclays Plc to stop credit and debit card payments to Binance.

Japan’s Financial Services Authority issued a warning about the bourse. Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission filed a criminal complaint against Binance with a division of the Royal Thai Police for operating a digital-asset business in the country without a license. The Cayman Islands’ financial regulator said Binance wasn’t authorized to operate in the territory. Singapore said it would follow up after other regulators’ moves.

Recently Reuters reported, citing an email sent to users, Binance also had to “temporarily suspend” euro bank deposits from large Europe’s payments networks.

At the time in the U.S., the Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are investigating the company, haven’t accused it of wrongdoing, though.

“We know that we are at the tipping point, along with the broader industry,” Zhao stated.