A former chief compliance and ethics officer from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is set to join Binance.US’s board of directors in the latest move by a cryptocurrency exchange to deepen its ties to Washington.
Ex-Fed chief Martin Grant will bring his decades of “regulatory, legal, and compliance” experience to Binance.US.
Binance.US Taps Martin Grant For Board Role
Binance.US, the American arm of the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has onboarded a new board member.
In an April 16 blog post, Binance.US announced the appointment of Martin Grant, who most recently served as the global head of regulatory affairs and integrity at JST Digital, to its board of directors.
We are proud to welcome Martin C. Grant, former @NewYorkFed Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer, to the https://t.co/AZwoBOh0gq board.
With over three decades of regulatory, legal, and compliance experience in government and the digital assets industry, Mr. Grant will continue to… pic.twitter.com/LumyL54R14
— Binance.US
(@BinanceUS) April 16, 2024
In his role as a board member, Grant will help the cryptocurrency company continue to navigate the current US regulatory challenges. Grant spent over 30 years serving in legal and compliant-focused roles with U.S. government bodies, Binance.US posited, with the majority of this experience coming during his stint at the New York Fed.
“The American digital asset industry is at an inflection point, and I am excited to help guide the future of one of the country’s most influential and customer-centric crypto platforms,” Grant posited in a statement.
The former New York Fed compliance chief takes on the role just months after Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder and ex-CEO of the global Binance exchange, stepped down as chairman of Binance.US’s board, as part of a settlement with U.S. authorities. As you may recall, Binance and CZ pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations in November 2023 and agreed to pay $4.3 billion and $50 million in fines, respectively. Zhao’s sentencing hearing is expected to be held on April 30.
Though Binance.US was not part of Binance’s agreement with authorities, it currently faces enforcement action from the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly offering unregistered securities to American investors.
The new addition to Binance.US’s board of directors comes about two weeks after Binance announced it was setting up a board for the first time in its history. The seven-member board is chaired by Gabriel Abed, who is the former ambassador of Barbados to the United Arab Emirates.
