Following the indictment of its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, Binance now says compliance is at the top of its agenda.
A potential Binance failure would send shockwaves through markets in a way that is hard to gauge. The exchange is home to 36% of all crypto holders worldwide, with more than 200 million users and $100 billion in assets held on its platform.
In 2023, the United States Department of Justice considered such factors when deciding on penalties for Binance instead of criminal charges to reduce the harm to consumers. The DOJ eventually settled with Binance, imposing $4.3 billion in fines to address regulatory violations. The deal also resulted in Binance’s founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, permanently stepping down from his role as CEO.
Since then, Binance has been heavily investing to mitigate its biggest threat: noncompliance. In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph during the Token2049 conference, the exchange’s new CEO, Richard Teng, said Binance now sees compliance as a “competitive advantage” and has invested nearly $200 million in its compliance program over the past two years.
