Binance plans to have a workforce of 700 people by the end of 2024. | Source: Bloomberg
Binance Holdings Ltd. is hiring 1,000 people this year, many of them for compliance roles, as the cryptocurrency exchange’s annual spending to meet regulatory requirements, including U.S. oversight under a plea deal, tops $200 million.
Chief Executive Richard Teng, who is visiting the United States to speak with monitors and officials, outlined employment goals for the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform in an interview with Bloomberg News in New York on Wednesday.
“I’ve been a regulator all my life,” Teng said. “Government agencies are important.” He declined to say whether he met with the Securities and Exchange Commission during his trip. The SEC is suing Binance and was not part of the U.S. settlement.
That settlement with the Justice Department and other U.S. agencies included a $4.3 billion fine for failures that allowed criminals and terrorist groups to use the platform. The firm faces years of compliance oversight by the Justice Department and the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Compliance Workforce
Binance plans to have a workforce of 700 by the end of 2024, up from 500 now, said Teng, 55. His career includes stints as a senior regulator at the Monetary Authority of Singapore as well as the city-state’s SGX stock exchange. He also served as chief executive of the regulator in the international financial center of Abu Dhabi.
Teng said Binance is receiving an increasing number of requests from law enforcement agencies around the world, totaling 63,000 so far this year, up from 58,000 in 2023.
Spending on regulatory compliance has increased from $158 million two years ago and is expected to continue to rise, he said. Watchdogs appointed by the U.S. agencies, Forensic Risk Alliance and Sullivan & Cromwell, have already begun work.
“They will make an assessment,” Teng said. “We are at a very early stage of the process.” Supervisors are monitoring the company’s anti-money laundering measures and transaction monitoring, he added.
In June, a judge ruled that the bulk of the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance and its billionaire co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao can move forward. The SEC sued Binance and Zhao in 2023 for mishandling customer funds, misleading investors and regulators, and violating securities rules. The defendants contested the allegations and asked for the case to be dismissed. Teng said Binance will continue to fight the allegations.
Teng took over as Binance CEO after Zhao resigned as part of the plea deal with the United States. Zhao was subsequently sentenced to a four-month prison term.
Teng’s changes
Under Teng, Binance has adjusted how it works with major brokers, tightened requirements for listing new digital tokens and spun off its venture division. But the company has yet to formally designate a global headquarters or publish a set of fully audited accounts.
Teng said the business remains profitable and that Dubai, Abu Dhabi and another city he declined to specify are on a list of possible locations for the headquarters. A company spokesman said two months ago that Binance had more than 5,000 employees.
According to Teng, the planned hiring spree also includes customer support positions. The expansion comes after a rebound in cryptocurrency prices and trading volumes following a bear market in 2022 that led to a series of job losses across the sector.
First published: August 22, 2024 | 21:33 IS
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