In the face of regulatory woes in several countries, crypto exchange Binance has brought in eToro's Jonathan Farnell as director of compliance.
Last month the the UK's Financial Conduct Authority issued a consumer warning, barring Binance from carrying out any regulated activity in the country. Meanwhile, Japan has accused the firm of operating in the country illegally and Thailand has filed a criminal complaint for operating without a licence.
Earlier this week, Barclays suspended debit and credit card payments from UK customers to Binance and yesterday the company told customers that it has temporarily stopped Sepa payments "due to events beyond our control".
The firm has now hired industry veteran Farnell to boost its compliance team in Europe.
Says Farnell: "In putting users first, Binance has a culture that fosters innovation and promotes the creation of game-changing products. My efforts will focus on helping Binance develop these and driving further regulatory compliance in Europe and the development of regulated products.
“My role will also focus on ongoing collaborative relationships with regulators and partners, as well as keeping up with the changing requirements in the constantly evolving cryptocurrency ecosystem. The crypto industry is fast-paced and faces unique challenges and I look forward to helping Binance grow in the next stage of its journey.”
Meanwhile, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has been moved to write a letter in which he describes compliance as a "journey".
Noting that the crypto industry and its regulation around the world has been evolving rapidly over the last four years, he says that Binance has grown its compliance team and advisory board by 500% since last year, is forming compliance partnerships, and is localising operation to meet different rules in different markets.
"We humbly welcome more constructive guidance to help us to grow better," says Zhao.