Binance plans to hire 1,000 new staff this year, with 20% focused on compliance, as regulatory spending tops $200 million.
According to reports, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, intends to increase its workforce by 1,000 this year. Compliance will comprise at least 20% of the new employees.
The company’s annual expenditure on regulatory compliance has exceeded $200 million, prompting the decision.
Binance CEO Richard Teng, who has a regulatory background, discussed these objectives with Bloomberg on August 21. He stated that the company intends to increase its compliance workforce from 500 to 700 by the end of 2024.
The company website indicates that Binance currently employs over 5,000 individuals in over one hundred locations. Customer service positions will also be included in the recruiting spree, according to Teng.
Teng, a former senior regulator at Singapore’s central bank, is presently in the United States, where he is meeting with officials in the wake of a plea agreement with the Justice Department.
The plea agreement comprises an ongoing compliance monitoring program and a $4.3 billion penalty.
Nevertheless, he declined to disclose whether he had encountered the Securities and Exchange Commission during his journey, which filed a lawsuit against the company in 2023.
“The amount of resources, talent, and effort that Binance invests in proactively creating a more secure ecosystem is unparalleled,” he stated in a post on X on Aug. 21.
He observed that Binance had received a progressively greater number of requests from law enforcement agencies worldwide, with a total of 63,000 so far this year, a significant increase from the 58,000 received in 2023.
One of these was in Macau, where Binance announced on August 20 that it had collaborated with the Macau Judiciary Police to implement a joint anti-crypto fraud campaign. It reported earlier in the month that it had successfully reclaimed or secured over $73 million in funds that were stolen through breaches so far this year.
Tether, the foremost stablecoin issuer, is also in the midst of a compliance recruiting campaign. Earlier this month, the company announced its intention to double its workforce to 200 by mid-2025, with an emphasis on compliance.
In the interim, Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, remain embroiled in legal disputes with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over allegations of securities law violations, among other allegations.
The defendants have requested that the case be dismissed, as the claims are currently being contested. Teng stated that Binance and CZ will persist in their efforts to refute the allegations.
