Binance is looking to shuffle its top executives and bring in a compliance-focused CEO, as part of contingency plans.
«We are looking for someone with a strong regulatory background to step in and be CEO,» Changpeng «CZ» Zhao said at a press conference Tuesday, «Coindesk» reported.
Singapore-based Zhao, who founded Binance in 2017, felt «CEOs should not stay for more than 10 years, ideally around 5 years.» He said he does not have any immediate plans to step down and will remain involved with Binance if a new CEO is hired.
Increased Scrutiny
Regulators around the world have recently stepped up scrutiny of the cryptocurrency exchange, currently the world's biggest, with $23.5 billion in trading volume daily.
The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority banned its British arm from conducting any regulatory activity, while Japan's regulator said last month that Binance was operating illegally in the country. Germany’s regulators warned of possible fines in April over stock-linked token offerings, while the U.S. Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service has reportedly launched a probe of the firm.
Revamped Regulatory Compliance
As part of the exchange’s plan to address the current regulatory scrutiny, Zhou said Binance is «pivoting from a tech startup to a financial institution,» which will involve opening headquarters, and creating a structure regulators can easily recognize.
The company has also started applying for licenses in regions with a legal framework for crypto exchanges, including the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America, Zhao said.
Binance also reduced withdrawal limits for unverified users, from 2 BTC ($79,319) to 0.06 BTC, in order to strengthen KYC measures. The company is additionally limiting futures trading leverage on certain accounts and introducing a tax reporting tool for users.
