Binance expands compliance staff as regulatory scrutiny piles up
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has hired a former deputy US attorney in the northern district of California as its deputy general counsel.
The appointment of Joshua Eaton is apparently part of an ongoing attempt to undo regulatory red flags and reinvent the world’s largest crypto ecosystem as a regulated financial firm. He will be tasked with leading Binance’s legal affairs, as well as strengthening its global compliance, investigations, and law enforcement coordination activities.
Eaton has two decades of experience in regulatory and criminal enforcement. Over the span of his career, he has provided counsel on sensitive operations, complex investigations, litigation, policies, and programs spanning a wide scope of law enforcement and operational issues. Eaton also provided key guidance to many U.S. Attorneys across America and U.S. Army commanders both at home and while deployed.
He is supposed to help optimize Binance’s offering at a time when the exchange is running into regulatory controversy after controversy. For the better part of 2021, Binance has encountered an abundance of issues with financial services regulators around the world.
“During my time at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, I became interested in blockchain technology and crypto and discovered how important it is to prevent bad actors from abusing this important, legitimate emerging technology for corrupt personal gain. I decided to join Binance because of its commitment to this mission as well as its track record in collaboration with law enforcement driven by transparency, integrity and protecting users,” said Eaton.
Binance adds more in-house lawyers
Commenting on the news, Binance’s General Counsel Hon Ng added: “The legal team at Binance is further strengthened by the dynamism and experience that Josh brings to our continuous efforts to protect users and manage risks. Josh was instrumental in his leadership role while in Government, developing its standard-bearing ethics and compliance practices, guiding it through some of the most sensitive and complex issues facing any government organization, and supporting its growth into one of the preeminent federal prosecutors offices in the United States.”
Binance has been on a recent hiring spree when it comes to regulatory compliance staff. The recent hires included former US Treasury criminal investigator Greg Monahan as its money laundering reporting officer, a former DFSA executive as its chief regulatory liaison and ex-senator Max Baucus as policy and government relations adviser.
The exchange giant also added compliance veteran Jonathan Farnell alongside two former executives of the intergovernmental organization Financial Action Task Force. Most recently, it had appointed former regulators from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
