The past few months have been tough on Binance because of a series of regulatory crackdowns on the exchange. The regulatory concerns revolved around Binance offering services without the proper registration and offering certain services beyond the scope for which the exchange was regulated.
Binance has now announced that it is working on changes that will enable the exchange to work closely with regulators. The exchange’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has now announced that the exchange will implement all required changes to transform the exchange into a fully regulated financial institution.
Binance Working on Compliance
Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of trading volumes. Despite its massive growth over the years, the exchange is fighting hard to make changes that will make it compliant with different regulators.
Binance’s CEO was speaking during an interview with the South China Morning Post published on September 16, stating that changes would soon be rolled out in response to some issues of concerns that have been raised by regulators.
“As we run a centralized exchange, we have come to realize that we need to have a centralized entity to work well with regulators,” Zhao stated.
These changes will be contrary to previous views by Binance, where the exchange stated it did not have any central location or headquarters because Bitcoin did not. However, this view has created regulatory woes for the exchange because failure to register and seek licenses in several countries is contrary to the financial laws of these jurisdictions.
Zhao has Dismissed Religious Beliefs
Previously, Zhao believed that cryptocurrency exchanges should not be under regulatory scrutiny because cryptocurrencies are decentralized. However, the current regulatory complications have forced Zhao to ditch these beliefs.
In the interview, Zhao noted that “We need to have clear records of stakeholders’ ownership, transparency, and risk controls. As the largest player in the industry, we need to prepare ourselves for the shift. We are making changes to make it easier to work with regulators.
Binance has already taken action when it comes to boosting compliance. The exchange has been actively expanding its human resources in the compliance departments. On September 17, Binance hired Nils Andersen-Roed, who previously worked with Europol as a dark web specialist. Andersen-Roed will be tasked with investigations and audits.
In August, Binance appointed Greg Monahan, a former US Treasury official who will now serve as the Global Head of Money Laundering Reporting Officer for the exchange. Monahan is tasked with ensuring Binance complies with Anti-money laundering (AML) laws.
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