Binance has named Martin Bruncko the executive vice president for Europe as the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange keeps up momentum on regulatory alignment.
Martin, a technology entrepreneur, executive and investor, had been advisor to Binance for nearly 14 months. He brings to the new role more than two decades of experience alongside a combination of government and technology background.
Per his Linkedin profile, Martin has been involved in building startups and international policymaking in the areas of finance and technology. His appointment comes as Binance bolsters its compliance efforts and navigates regulatory headwinds around the world.
Prior to joining Binance, Martin held advisory positions with Slovakia’s minister of finance and the European Stability Mechanism. Other stops include serving as senior director and head of Europe at the World Economic Forum, and a senior advisor to the Government of Dubai.
“I am very excited to be joining Binance in its new phase of growth, as it is starting to put a major focus on compliance and an expansion into more traditional fintech areas. The incredible community that Binance has managed to build over the years, its cutting edge technologies, and the shift toward working ever more closely with regulators give Binance almost limitless opportunities. I look forward to realizing this potential in Europe and beyond,” said Martin Bruncko.
The recent appointment comes barely two weeks after another important hire, where Binance named a former DFSA executive as its chief regulatory liaison. The move also came shortly after Binance registered three entities in Ireland. As such, Bruncko’s experience is likely to be extremely useful for the cryptocurrency giant as they embark on upgrading their regulatory profile in Europe.
Binance has been on a recent hiring spree, having expanded its regulatory compliance staff and advisory board by 500% since 2020. The new hires included former US Treasury criminal investigator Greg Monahan as its money laundering reporting officer and ex-senator Max Baucus as policy and government relations adviser.
The exchange also added compliance veteran Jonathan Farnell alongside two former executives of the intergovernmental organisation Financial Action Task Force.
CZ himself raised the prospect of stepping down and confirmed that Binance was on the lookout for global executives with a strong regulatory background to help them pivot towards becoming a regulated financial institution.
In Asia, Binance hired Richard Teng, the former chief regulatory officer of the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX), to lead its Singapore operations. He joined the firm as the CEO of Binance Singapore, which operates under the domain Binance.sg, as part of its effort to court global regulatory bodies.
