Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Crypto exchange Binance.US is beefing up its D.C. lobbying operation as erstwhile competitor FTX comes under withering regulatory and criminal scrutiny, Axios has learned.
Between the lines: Palo Alto-based Binance.US is legally independent from Binance, the Caymans-based crypto giant. The U.S. firm licenses Binance's technology and is chaired and partially owned by its CEO, Changpeng Zhao.
What's happening: Binance.US has hired three D.C. firms to expand its PR and government relations efforts:
- Former senior George W. Bush White House official Kirk Blalock will lead a lobbying team at Fierce Government Relations.
- FS Vector partner Peter Freeman, a former senior aide to ex-Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), will also lead a lobbying effort for the company.
- Binance.US is bringing on the Bullpen Strategy Group to work on its policy communications efforts.
Binance.US previously hired B.J. Kang, a veteran FBI financial crimes investigator, to lead a new "investigations unit."
- Its general counsel is a former attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The big picture: Its recent hires come as U.S. authorities step up pressure on the industry.
- Binance.US was reportedly under SEC scrutiny this year over its ties to a pair of trading firms operating on its exchange.
- In news that shook the crypto world this week, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was indicted on eight federal criminal charges.
- The Justice Department is also said to be eyeing charges against Binance and Zhao.
What they're saying: “Binance.US is strengthening and expanding our Washington team to center the digital assets policy agenda on our customers’ interests," the company told Axios in a statement on its new K Street hires.
- "We are looking forward to seeing our team grow and continuing to elevate the new economy and the overall digital asset exchange industry.”
Between the lines: The company is filling a gap left by Binance's exit from the U.S. market in 2019, and it stresses its independence from its eponymous affiliate.
- The U.S. company holds itself out as a compliance-focused player in the crypto space, saying it "was established to serve U.S. consumers and adhere to U.S. regulations," the company says.