Binance Likely To Retain Dominant Position In International Crypto Markets After $4.3 Billion US Settlement, Bernstein Says

BySteven Walgenbach

Updated: 22 November 2023

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Binance will remain the dominant cryptocurrency exchange in international markets even after paying a $4.3 billion penalty to settle criminal charges in the US, but it will face increased competition from Coinbase and new exchanges in places including Singapore and Hong Kong, research firm Bernstein said.

Analysts from the firm said Binance has more than adequate funds to pay the historic $4.3 billion settlement, a statement that’s backed up by data from DefiLlama’s centralized exchange dashboard, which shows that Binance holds around $68.4 billion worth of cryptocurrency assets alone.

“Binance’s reputation with retail non-U.S. customers has remained strong through the crisis,” said Bernstein analysts led by Gautam Chhugani.

He said that while Binance experienced outflows of less than $1 billion following news of the settlement, there was no panic from customers and it still holds $67 billion of customer funds under custody.

The exchange is also overcollateralized for many of the largest assets on its books, including bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT) and others, which means it can absorb the penalty and return to business without undue interruption.

Binance also moved quickly to shore up its operations, appointing head of regional markets, Richard Teng, as CEO. Teng was hired in 2021 and was appointed as the head of non-U.S. regional markets by Zhao.

His decade-long career as a senior regulator included positions at the Monetary Authority of Singapore as well as the city-state’s SGX stock exchange. Teng was also the chief executive of the regulator at Abu Dhabi’s international financial free zone.

It is an honour and with the deepest humility that I step into the role of Binance’s new CEO.

We operate the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume. The trust placed on us by our 150m users and thousands of employees is a responsibility that I take seriously and hold…

— Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng) November 21, 2023

Teng stated in an X post that he will primarily focus on reassuring Binance’s 150 million users about the company’s strong position in the market, as well as its security and safety following the settlement. He also intends on collaborating with regulators to ensure that the exchange platform adheres to “high” global standards.

Binance Still Faces Challenges

There are though still obstacles that the exchange must overcome. A civil lawsuit brought forward by the SEC is the most noteworthy, and Binance must see if its settlement in the US can help it stem a mass exodus of senior executives.

That the exchange titan will also need to appoint an independent monitor and send compliance reports to the U.S. government may serve it well. If it can become a more compliant exchange, then global regulators may become more open to it.