Binance To Hire 1,000 People By Year-End As Annual Regulatory Spending Tops $200 Million: Bloomberg

Updated: 22 August 2024

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Crypto exchange Binance plans to hire 1,000 employees this year, focusing on compliance and customer service roles as its annual spending to meet regulatory requirements exceeds $200 million.

CEO Richard Teng shared the hiring plans in an Aug. 21 interview with Bloomberg News during a visit to the US, where he met with regulatory officials as part of a $4.3 billion plea agreement with the US Justice Department and other agencies.

Binance To Grow Its Compliance Team As Global Regulatory Requests Skyrocket

Binance plans to grow its compliance workforce to 700 employees by the end of the year, up from 500 now, Teng said.

He said the exchange fields an increasing number of requests from law enforcement agencies across the globe. This year alone, Binance has received around 63,000 requests so far, which is more than the 58,000 requests it received in all of 2023.

Binance’s annual compliance costs have also risen from $158 million two years ago and are expected to rise further, Teng said.

Judge Gives SEC The Go Ahead In Its Lawsuit Against The Leading Exchange

Teng took over as Binance CEO after Changpeng Zhao stepped down as part of the plea deal with US regulators.

Under his leadership, the company has changed how it works with prime brokers as well as tightened requirements for new token listings on the platform.

Binance has, however, not yet established its global headquarters. The company’s CEO named Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and another undisclosed city as potential options for a future global HQ.

⚡️Binance Affirms SEC Has No Right to Use Agreement with Department of Justice to Proceed with Charges 🚫
⚡️ Binance, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has officially declared that the United States Securities Commission (SEC) has no legal basis to use Binance's… pic.twitter.com/HGiXos7yuR

— Sophia Kong (@Sophiakong789) December 13, 2023

Binance is currently under regulatory oversight by Forensic Risk Alliance and Sullivan & Cromwell as part of the plea deal, which does not include the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In 2023, the SEC sued Binance and Zhao for mishandling customer funds, violating various securities rules as well as misleading regulators and investors.

A judge said in June that much of the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance can continue. Teng said that the company will continue to fight the SEC lawsuit.