More than 1,500 individuals, approximately 25% of global headcount, are dedicated to compliance functions at the exchange as of early 2026, according to Binance. That ratio is the nearest answer to how many people work at Binance, since none of the Binance statements we reviewed give a company-wide total. The last total came from founder Changpeng Zhao, who wrote on X in November 2022, as Forkast reported, that the exchange has over 7,400 employees.
Reporting in April 2026 put Binance’s United Arab Emirates (UAE) workforce at more than 1,000 staff, approximately 20% of its global workforce. A July 2025 Binance post described thousands of employees representing more than 50 nationalities and working from nearly 100 different countries. The figures below cover the compliance unit, spending, hiring, staff locations, and leadership, each dated to the statement it came from.
Key Takeaways
- Binance counted 593 full-time employees within the Compliance business unit in early 2026, fewer than the 645 compliance staff it targeted for the end of 2024, though the target may count a different group than the unit’s full-time staff.
- A further 978 employees and contractors in compliance-related roles across customer-service, technology, and product teams sit outside that unit as of early 2026.
- Binance says around one in four Binance employees work in compliance-related functions, against around 1% to 3% of total employees that the largest global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) typically dedicate, per Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
- Binance puts its compliance investment at approximately $300 million annually, or approximately $50,000 per employee each year.
- Binance handled 72,632 law-enforcement requests in 2025, per a June 2026 Binance blog post, up from 58,000 in 2023, a figure CEO Richard Teng gave Bloomberg News in August 2024.
- Zhao’s last company-wide figure, posted in November 2022, was over 7,400 employees.
Editor’s Choice: How Many People Work at Binance
- Compliance-related professionals: nearly 1,500 as of June 2026.
- Compliance share of global headcount: approximately 25% in early 2026.
- Staff in the UAE: more than 1,000 as of April 2026.
- Countries employees work from: nearly 100 as of July 2025.
- Law-enforcement requests handled since launch: 313,653 as of June 2026.
- Year-end 2024 compliance workforce target: 700, per Bloomberg News in August 2024.
- Coinbase employees for comparison: 4,951 as of December 31, 2025.
Binance Employee Count in 2026
- As of early 2026, Binance reports that more than 1,500 individuals, approximately 25% of global headcount, are dedicated to compliance functions.
- A June 2026 Binance post describes nearly 1,500 professionals, around one in four Binance employees, in compliance-related functions.
- As of April 2026, Binance employs more than 1,000 staff in the UAE, per People Matters.
- Changpeng Zhao wrote on X in November 2022, as Forkast reported, that the exchange has over 7,400 employees.
- No Binance statement we reviewed since Zhao’s November 2022 post gives a company-wide total, so the ratios above are the current window on headcount.
| Date | Binance workforce disclosure | Figure | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2022 | Total employees | about 5,900 | Changpeng Zhao |
| November 2022 | Total employees | over 7,400 | Changpeng Zhao |
| July 2025 | Countries employees work from | nearly 100 | Binance |
| Early 2026 | People dedicated to compliance functions | more than 1,500 | Binance |
| Early 2026 | Compliance share of global headcount | approximately 25% | Binance |
| April 2026 | Staff in the UAE | more than 1,000 | People Matters |
| June 2026 | Compliance-related professionals | nearly 1,500 | Binance |
Source: Changpeng Zhao via Forkast, Binance, People Matters
How many employees does Binance have?
Binance does not state a company-wide total in the statements we reviewed. Its own ratio is the best guide: More than 1,500 individuals, approximately 25% of global headcount, work in compliance as of early 2026. The last total, from Changpeng Zhao in November 2022, was over 7,400.
About This Data
- Sources: 22 in total, made up of 13 Binance pages, 2 Binance releases republished elsewhere, 1 US Department of Justice release, 1 Coinbase annual report, and 5 news reports.
- Window: November 2022 to September 2026.
- Selection: company statements, filings and reporting that names its source; headcount-estimating trackers were left out.
- Updates: Figures change when Binance publishes new ones.
Binance Compliance Team Size by Year
- In an August 2024 Bloomberg News interview, CEO Richard Teng said Binance plans to have a 700-strong compliance workforce by the end of 2024.
- In November 2024, Binance set a lower year-end target, describing it as a 34% growth between November 2023 and the end of 2024.
- By December 2025, Binance described an in-house compliance team of more than 600 dedicated professionals.
- The early 2026 Compliance unit count of 593 sits 52 below the 645 year-end target Binance set in November 2024.
- The two figures may not measure the same group, since the 2024 target counts compliance staff while the 2026 figure counts full-time employees of one business unit.
View the data
Recent Developments
- September 9, 2026: In its Binance Seeds early-career series, Binance profiled an employee who joined in 2021 with no crypto background and worked through five roles in four years.
- August 25, 2026: Bloomberg Law reported that Binance has hired two senior compliance executives from Crypto.com, with Duncan DeVille now Binance’s global head of financial crime compliance.
- August 4, 2026: Binance said it supported India’s Gujarat Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in a case involving approximately ₹226.54 crore (about $23.96 million) in alleged illegal crypto transactions.
- July 22, 2026: Binance said its Investigations team supported the investigation with blockchain intelligence behind India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) action against the Team Kalki darknet network.
Binance Compliance Workforce Breakdown in 2026
- Binance says it maintains specialized teams focused on sanctions, counter-terrorist financing, financial crimes investigations, and special investigations.
- A February 2026 Binance post counted 593 full-time employees within the Compliance business unit and 978 employees and contractors in compliance-related roles as of early 2026.
- Replying to a congressional inquiry in March 2026, Binance said that out of over 1,500 compliance staff, only a small number have separated from Binance.
- Chief compliance officer Noah Perlman credited Binance’s infrastructure and the 1,500+ professionals working behind the scenes for the exchange’s drop in illicit exposure.
| Compliance group, early 2026 | Headcount | Employment basis |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance business unit | 593 | Full-time employees |
| Compliance-related roles in customer service, technology and product | 978 | Employees and contractors |
Source: Binance, February 2026
The larger group, 978 employees and contractors, mixes two kinds of staff. That makes the 1,500-plus figure a count of people doing compliance work, not a count of compliance employees.
Binance Compliance Staff Share vs Global Banks
- Binance says nearly 1,500 professionals, around one in four Binance employees, work in compliance-related functions.
- Binance cites a BCG estimate that even the largest global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) typically dedicate around 1% to 3% of total employees to compliance functions.
- On that basis, Binance says its allocation is approximately 8.6 times higher than G-SIBs.
- Binance also says it invests approximately $50,000 per employee annually in compliance.
Why it matters: Binance’s own comparison puts its compliance allocation at approximately 8.6 times higher than G-SIBs, the largest global banks in BCG’s estimate. For anyone sizing Binance, the ratio says more about where its people sit than about how many people it employs.
Binance Compliance Spending by Year
- Binance says its compliance investment amounts to approximately $300 million annually, as of June 2026.
- In August 2024, Bloomberg reported that Binance’s annual spending to meet regulatory requirements, including US oversight under a plea deal, tops $200 million.
- Teng said then that spending on compliance has climbed from $158 million two years ago.
- Binance spent more than $3 million in compute on compliance-focused AI in the first five months of 2026.
Law-Enforcement Requests Handled by Binance Staff
- Binance handled 72,632 law-enforcement requests from authorities worldwide in 2025.
- As of June 2026, Binance’s all-time total reached 313,653 requests.
- In 2025, Binance teams supported authorities in confiscating more than $131 million in funds linked to illicit activity.
- Binance also reported delivering more than 160 training sessions for law enforcement in 2025.
View the data
By the numbers: Binance’s request load rose from 58,000 in 2023 to 72,632 in 2025, an increase of 25%. Each request lands on investigators and compliance analysts, which helps explain why Binance keeps sizing that team in public.
Binance Headcount History From 2022 to 2023
- Zhao wrote in November 2022 that the company aims to have 8,000 people on staff by the end of this year.
- In July 2023, Reuters relayed a Wall Street Journal report that Binance has laid off more than 1,000 people in recent weeks.
- The same report said the cuts could result in the exchange losing more than a third of its staff.
- The 1,000 figure comes from the Journal’s reporting, not from a Binance statement, and no later company-wide total appears in the Binance statements and filings we reviewed.
Binance Hiring Plans and Early-Career Programs
- Bloomberg reported in August 2024 that Binance Holdings Ltd. is hiring 1,000 people this year with many earmarked for compliance roles.
- Binance’s November 2024 release said it employed over 1,000 compliance staff and contractors.
- The same release named Todd McElduff, who joins Binance as its Enterprise Compliance Director.
- In April 2025, Binance introduced Binance Seeds, its early careers program designed to nurture early-career talent and accelerate employees’ professional growth.
| Binance Seeds track | Contract type | Who it targets |
|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Talent Program | Full-time | Candidates with up to 5 years of experience |
| Binance Accelerator Program | 3-6 month fixed-term contract | Students and recent graduates |
Source: Binance, 2025 and 2026
Where Binance Employees Work
- Binance describes itself as global and remote-first.
- At its eighth anniversary in July 2025, Binance said it had thousands of employees representing more than 50 nationalities and working from nearly 100 different countries.
- People Matters reported that Binance employs more than 1,000 staff in the UAE, approximately 20% of its global workforce.
- During regional tensions in April 2026, Binance provided staff in the UAE with the option to temporarily move to key Asian financial centers, including Hong Kong, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok.
- A Binance spokesperson said many employees have chosen to remain in the UAE and that operations in the country continue as normal.
- A remote-first model spread across nearly 100 countries is one reason a single office headcount, the figure many companies publish, does not exist for Binance.
Binance Leadership Team in 2026
- In December 2025, Binance said Yi He, Binance co-founder and executive leader since inception, has been named co-CEO alongside Richard Teng.
- Yi He oversees the daily operations and management of several critical business units, including HR, marketing, global communications, and customer support.
- Under Yi He’s leadership, Binance reported reaching 250 million registered users by January 2025.
- Co-founder Heina Chen’s remit includes overseeing the whole back office covering Finance, HR, Admin, Clearing, and Treasury functions, and she brings over 14 years of operations management and entrepreneurial experience.
- Binance named Daniel Acosta as Head of Latin America in June 2026.
| Name | Role at Binance | Reported by |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Teng | Co-CEO | Binance |
| Yi He | Co-CEO and Co-Founder | Binance |
| Heina Chen | Senior Executive and Co-Founder | Binance |
| Gabriel Abed | Chairman of the Board (Independent Board Member) | Binance |
| Xin Wang | Independent Board Member | Binance |
| Max Yang | Independent Board Member | Binance |
| Noah Perlman | Chief Compliance Officer | Bloomberg Law |
| Duncan DeVille | Global head of financial crime compliance | Bloomberg Law |
| Daniel Acosta | Head of Latin America | Binance |
Source: Binance About page and blog, Bloomberg Law
Why Binance Expanded Compliance Hiring After 2023
- Under its November 2023 plea agreement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Binance agreed to a total financial penalty of $4,316,126,163.
- Binance has also agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years and remediate and enhance its anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs.
- Bloomberg reported in August 2024 that the firm faces years of compliance monitoring by the DOJ and the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
- Teng was visiting the US to talk to monitors and officials when he set out the 2024 hiring goals.
| Plea agreement component | Amount ($) |
|---|---|
| Forfeiture | 2,510,650,588 |
| Criminal fine | 1,805,475,575 |
| Total financial penalty | 4,316,126,163 |
Source: US Department of Justice, November 2023
Is Binance bigger than Coinbase?
By disclosed headcount, the question has no clean answer. Coinbase’s headcount stood at 4,951 employees as of December 31, 2025, according to its Form 10-K annual report, while Binance gives no matching total.
Binance’s compliance group alone, more than 1,500 people, equals more than 30.3% of Coinbase’s total headcount. The comparison is loose, since Binance’s figure includes contractors while Coinbase’s counts employees only. Binance’s user numbers run to over 300 million users, per a March 2026 company statement.
Does Binance publish its employee count?
Not as a company-wide total in the statements we reviewed. Bloomberg reported in August 2024 that the company has yet to formally designate a global headquarters or release a fully audited set of accounts. Binance instead gives ratios, such as around one in four Binance employees working in compliance-related functions.
Conclusion
Binance sizes its workforce through the people in its compliance functions: more than 1,500 individuals, approximately 25% of global headcount. Of those, 593 are full-time employees within the Compliance business unit. Until Binance publishes a company-wide total, readers have only the ratios it chooses itself. The last company-wide total in the Binance statements and filings we reviewed is Zhao’s.
The next marker worth watching is whether Binance restates its compliance headcount as the independent monitorship runs its course. The test is whether that update finally includes the denominator.































































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Can we see the list of managers?