The number of users at crypto exchange Binance will increase by 30% in 2023, CEO Richard Teng said on December 28. In November, the company paid a huge fine and reached a settlement with US regulators, which led to the resignation of founder Changpeng Zhao, but it showed strength.

In his year-end report, Teng said after Zhao’s guilty plea that “net inflows have been very strong and we continue to see a steady flow of new users.” Binance has agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine for violating U.S. banking laws.

Growth is not just limited to the number of users. Binance Pay, Binance Earn, and peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms are all also growing. Mr Teng also said there was strong interest from “institutional investors”. The number of accounts increased by 40 million to 170 million.

The company will spend $213 million on compliance in 2023, according to the report. The company said it has strengthened monitoring of wash trades on exchanges and NFT markets, built an internal management system to monitor transactions, and underwent a security audit, which was completed this month.

Spending has increased by 35% since 2022 and is expected to be even higher in 2024. Binance has agreed to spend the next five years on U.S. government-approved compliance oversight.

In 2023, Binance’s regulatory affairs team processed approximately 60,000 requests from law enforcement agencies around the world and conducted 120 training sessions.

“Our company is built to last for decades, not years,” Teng wrote in the report.

｜Translation/Editing: CoinDesk JAPAN Editorial Department
｜Image: Binance
｜Original text: Binance User Base Grew 30% This Year, Expanding Even After US Legal Settlements