Binance (BNB) boss admits mistakes have been made, looks to shore up compliance team

The founder and CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), posted a letter admitting his firm hadn’t gotten “everything right.” This he attributes to the speed at which they have grown.

“Binance has grown very quickly and we haven’t always got everything exactly right, but we are learning and improving every day,” he wrote.

The comments come as several regulators issued warnings on Binance. In the meantime, problems with fiat deposits, bank bans, and accusations of “defective derivative products,” have spooked customers.

In response, Binance said it plans to double its compliance team in a bid to stay on the right side of regulators.

Regulators applying the squeeze on Binance

As previously reported, a total of four financial regulators have sounded the alarm on Binance. Most issued warnings on the firm’s lack of licensing in their respective jurisdictions.

In the case of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, Binance was forced to withdraw its services from the Canadian province.

However, in a further blow, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission filed a criminal complaint about operating a crypto exchange without a license. The issue has been logged with the Thai police.

The knock-on effect has seen problems with users on/off ramping. First, with U.K users having trouble with GBP ramping. Now, reports are circulating that access to Europe’s SEPA payments network has also been suspended.

Some say their poor experience of using the platform justifies the global crackdown. Others think this is part of a wider, covert action to stem cryptocurrency.

CZ reflects on the matter

In an attempt to address concerns, CZ posted a letter about the current regulatory climate and what lies ahead for his firm. However, it did not directly address any of the regulator notices of the past week or so.

CZ spoke of the ways in which Binance has prioritized users and worked to tackle the problem of money laundering, fraud, etc.

“Therefore, we have added requirements for using our platform and set industry standards: strict insider trading policies (no active trading of any asset within 30 days), a Secured Asset emergency fund (SAFU) to protect user assets and rigorous listing standards and firewall to separate out the listing team.”

Shifting the focus back onto regulators, he called for clearer regulatory guidance. And even welcomed more regulation due to this being a sign of the crypto industry maturing.

Drawing parallels with the invention of the car, CZ said that period had no traffic lights, traffic laws, or even any in-car safety features. But, over time, those things arrived. This, he says, is similar to where the crypto industry currently stands.

In meeting regulator expectations, Binance has strengthened its international compliance team and advisory board. Including the appointment of former regulators.

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