Binance Will Recruit 1000 New Employees This Year

JAKARTA - As the world's largest crypto exchange, Binance is now focusing on regulatory compliance amid intense scrutiny from global authorities. Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, who has a background as a financial regulator, revealed the company's plans to recruit 1,000 new employees this year, especially to strengthen compliance teams. This move came after Binance faced major lawsuits, including a settlement of US$4.3 billion (approximately Rp68 trillion) last year.

In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg News in New York, Teng stated that Binance has allocated more than $200 million per year for regulatory compliance.

The fund, which increased from 158 million US dollars (approximately IDR 2.5 trillion) two years ago, was used to finance the work of Forensic Risk Alliance and Sullivan & Cromwell, two firms appointed by the US government to monitor Binance's financial reports and transaction processes.

Binance also plans to expand the number of compliance teams to reach 700 by the end of 2024, an increase from 500 today. This increase was made in response to the increasing number of requests from law enforcement agencies, which have reached 63,000 demand so far this year, up from 58,000 in 2023.

However, Binance is still facing a number of unresolved legal challenges. One of the major cases faced was a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In June, a judge ruled that most of the SEC's demands against Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, could continue. In response to this, Teng emphasized that Binance would continue to defend itself against the charges made.

In addition, Teng must also deal with internal problems, including the detention of Tigran Imageyan, a Binance compliance officer, in Nigeria on charges of illegal transactions. On the other hand, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison earlier this year after pleading guilty of violating US anti-money laundering laws.

Since occupying Changpeng Zhao's position at Binance Binance, Teng has made a number of significant changes, such as tightening requirements for recording new digital tokens and separating the company's venture division.

However, until now, Binance has not officially designated the location of global headquarters or released comprehensive audited financial reports. These measures reflect Binance's efforts to navigate the increasingly stringent complexity of global regulation.