During the Chainalysis’ Links conference in New York on Wednesday (April 10), the chief compliance officers of Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken shared insights on the settlements their respective crypto exchanges reached with regulators. These settlements, which occurred within the past two years, have led the companies to invest in compliance controls and staffing, and they hope their experiences can serve as lessons for the rest of the industry.
Noah Perlman, Binance’s chief compliance officer, stated that the requirements from their settlement have guided the company in improving their compliance program and can serve as a model for others in the industry. In November, Binance settled claims from multiple agencies regarding violations of anti-money laundering (AML) laws and sanctions.
Valerie-Leila Jaber, Coinbase’s global head of financial crime compliance, mentioned that their compliance team has partnered with their technology teams to enhance their ability to quickly respond to compliance-related alerts, especially as their transaction volume continues to increase. In January, Coinbase reached a settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services for AML law violations.
CJ Rinaldi, Kraken’s chief compliance officer, shared that the company has learned the importance of identifying problems and directly notifying regulators to avoid surprises. In 2022, Kraken settled allegations of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The Wall Street Journal reported on these insights a day after Binance’s new CEO, Richard Teng, spoke with CNBC and stated that the company is now more focused on compliance and sustainability, moving away from their previous ethos of “better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
According to Caitlin Barnett, director of regulation and compliance at blockchain data firm Chainalysis, the ability to easily conduct transaction monitoring has helped the crypto industry shake off its reputation as a currency for darknet markets and illicit actors. In an interview with PYMNTS in November 2022, she stated that this has been crucial in the industry’s maturation process.
