Proof of State author: Binance CEO views appointment of compliance monitor 'as a competitive advantage'

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a settlement with Binance on Nov. 21 over historical compliance issues, according to a DOJ press release. As part of this resolution, Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties and permit a third-party monitor access to its transactions and accounts. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao agreed to step down from his role as CEO and plead guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.

Following the settlement, Teng assumed the role of CEO at Binance. Since then, according to Schwartz, Binance has gained almost 20 million new users. Teng brings a strong regulatory background to his role at Binance, having spent 14 years working at the Monetary Authority of Singapore and another six years as CEO of Abu Dhabi Global Market.

Elja Boom, co-founder of crypto wallet provider Okse, expressed confidence in Binance's financial health post-settlement in a December post on X platform. Boom cited data from decentralized finance aggregation platform DefiLlama showing that inflows to Binance totaled approximately $1.5 billion during the week leading up to Dec. 8. The exchange's on-chain assets total $74 billion—more than the combined total of the next 30 largest crypto exchanges. Boom asserted that these figures demonstrate trust from nearly 170 million global users and attest to robust compliance controls at Binance. He further stated that Binance is setting a benchmark and exemplifying financial vigor and resilience.

Schwartz, according to his LinkedIn profile, conducts research on the global impact of crypto. His past experience includes working as a web editor for the North American Congress on Latin America. He holds degrees from Columbia University and New York University.