🔥 2026 is the Year of Regulation; the second half for exchanges is compliance.

Global crypto regulation is tightening at an unprecedented pace.

• The US GENIUS Act has been signed into law, the CLARITY Act is advancing, and the SEC and CFTC have jointly launched Project Crypto;
• In the Asia-Pacific region, VASP licensing in Hong Kong and Project Guardian in Singapore have already been implemented. At this juncture, Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng @_RichardTeng released a noteworthy video. He appeared alongside Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman, discussing what Binance has actually done in terms of compliance, supported by specific data. The information density is high, and Biteye believes there are several key points worth noting. 👇 ⭐️ 1. Key Signal Interpretation: Defining Compliance with Data Based on Binance’s recent compliance updates, this video conveys several key signals: 1️⃣ A quarter of employees are dedicated to compliance Binance currently has over 1,500 full-time staff responsible for compliance and risk control, accounting for about 25% of its global workforce. Among them, 593 are full-time compliance business unit employees, with nearly a thousand working in technology, product, customer service, and other departments handling compliance functions. Over the past few years, this system has been rebuilt with investments totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. According to related reports, compliance controls have been deeply embedded into Binance’s operational processes, integrated into every step of the business workflow. For an exchange operating 24/7 with users worldwide, building such a system is far more challenging than outsiders imagine. 2️⃣ Sanction risk exposure decreased by 97% over 18 months From 0.284% of total trading volume in January 2024 to 0.009% in July 2025. The amount of direct interactions with high-risk exchanges dropped from $4 .19 million to $110,000. The open nature of public blockchains means anyone can transfer funds to exchange addresses without permission, making zero exposure technically impossible. Exchanges can only manage risks through post-transaction monitoring, wallet screening, and transaction surveillance. Under these inherent conditions, reducing exposure to less than one ten-thousandth requires significant technological and human resource investment. 3️⃣ Law enforcement cooperation and user protection data in 2025
• Responded to over 71,000 global law enforcement requests, averaging nearly 200 per day
• Assisted in seizing over $131 million in illegal funds
• The risk control system intercepted about $6.69 billion in potential fraud losses for 5.4 million users These scams are happening every day in reality. Compliance is not just a superficial licensing process but a real frontline that directly safeguards user assets. 4️⃣ Independence of the compliance system Compliance decisions are based on laws and established procedures, not commercial considerations. Teng also stated in the video that no one at Binance has ever been fired for raising compliance issues. The investigation team’s role is to identify, report, review, escalate, and handle issues within a framework. ⭐️ 2. From Passive Response to Active Reconstruction: Binance’s Compliance Evolution Panorama Binance’s compliance system was not built overnight. Looking back at the timeline, it has gone through three distinct phases. 1️⃣ Startup Phase (2017-2021): From Rapid Expansion to Awareness When Binance was founded in 2017, like most crypto exchanges at the time, its priorities were growth and product development. Its compliance framework was relatively lightweight, lacking systematic KYC processes or comprehensive anti-money laundering (AML) frameworks. However, as user numbers rapidly grew into the tens of millions, regulatory scrutiny intensified. Between 2019 and 2021, Binance gradually implemented mandatory identity verification and began exploring licensing in certain jurisdictions. During this phase, compliance was more about “reactive response,” with the platform moving step-by-step as regulations advanced. But for the industry as a whole, this was already a relatively advanced awareness. 2️⃣ Turning Point (2023): Management Restructuring Richard Teng officially took over as CEO. His background is noteworthy—he has nearly 20 years of financial regulation experience, having served as CEO of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority and worked long-term at the Monetary Authority of Singapore. In the video, he mentioned that his career had always been on the regulator side, and now, switching to the regulated side, gave him a new perspective on what regulators truly care about. This personnel change is more than just a new CEO; it marks Binance’s shift from a founder-driven model to a more institutionalized, professional management structure. 3️⃣ Rebuilding Phase (2024-2026): Systematic Construction In the following two years, Binance entered a comprehensive compliance rebuild. In terms of talent, Binance hired Noah Perlman as Chief Compliance Officer. Perlman previously served as COO at Gemini Trust. Moving forward, Binance’s compliance control is no longer an independent department conducting post-hoc reviews but is embedded into every aspect of product development, business operations, and risk management. Regarding licensing achievements:
• Currently licensed, registered, or authorized in 20 jurisdictions worldwide
• By the end of 2025, the first crypto exchange fully authorized in Abu Dhabi
• Early 2026, submitted a MiCA pan-European license application to Greece; if approved, it can operate across EU member states ⭐️ 3. Industry Reshuffle Underway: How Does Compliance Define Competitiveness? From the above developments, Binance’s compliance transformation offers key insights for the entire crypto industry: 1️⃣ Compliance capability is becoming a core competitive advantage. When Binance uses a 97% reduction in sanction risk and licenses in 20 jurisdictions to define its standards, it effectively raises the industry’s entry barriers. Future competition among exchanges will no longer just be about tokens or fees but about who has more solid compliance. 2️⃣ The crypto industry is shifting from “disrupting traditional finance” to “integrating into traditional finance.” Binance’s move from a borderless, headquarters-less entity to establishing a board, applying for global licenses, and undergoing compliance oversight is an inevitable evolution toward maturity. 3️⃣ A healthy compliance culture depends on trust. Many platform collapses stem not from lack of systems but from a culture that doesn’t take compliance seriously from top to bottom. Binance has clearly stated that compliance investigations operate independently, unaffected by shareholders or management, and compliance decisions are based on laws and established procedures, not commercial interests. ⭐️ 4. Final Words: Compliance Is More Than Just Licensing By 2026, the global crypto industry is experiencing a silent but profound reshuffle. The rapid rise of compliance thresholds may accelerate resource and user concentration toward leading compliant platforms. For every user holding assets on an exchange, questions worth considering include: How many platforms are truly compliant? How deep is their cooperation with law enforcement? Do they have the capacity to prevent risks before scams happen? In the editor’s view, the answers to these questions may be more valuable than knowing what the next “hundred-dollar coin” will be. 🤔