The DOJ has reportedly been considering lifting a three-year compliance monitor imposed under Binance’s USD 4.3 billion settlement.
Following this announcement, Binance is reportedly in talks with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to remove a key oversight measure from its 2023 settlement agreement. This initiative represents a change that, if approved, could ease regulatory and compliance pressures on the cryptocurrency exchange.
According to Bloomberg, the DOJ is currently weighing whether to lift the requirement that Binance be overseen by an independent compliance monitor. The monitor was imposed for a three-year period as part of a USD 4.3 billion settlement that Binance reached with the DOJ in 2023, following several allegations of multiple compliance failures that also included insufficient safeguards against money laundering. In addition, the 2023 DOJ settlement applied to Binance’s global operations, not its US affiliate, which had been developed to operate as a separate legal entity.
More information on Binance’s plan to seek a DOJ deal that could end the 2023 compliance monitor
This potential move represents a part of what could be an emerging DOJ trend toward reducing or ending external oversight in certain cases, although it is not yet clear how broadly this process will apply. At the same time, financial institutions and companies have often criticised the overall use of outside monitors, describing them as costly and disruptive.
While the DOJ review has not been confirmed, Bloomberg also reported that at least three other companies have successfully avoided extended oversight by compliance monitors. These include the mining firm Glencore Plc, as well as UK-based NatWest Group Plc and Australia’s Austal Ltd., which operate in banking and naval shipbuilding, respectively.
Binance’s reported bid to ease compliance obligations with the DOJ follows the crypto industry's embrace of a wave of clearer, more industry-friendly regulation under US President Donald Trump. Furthermore, the administration has advanced several major initiatives, including the process of signing the GENIUS stablecoin act and the House of Representatives’ passage of both a market-structure bill and anti-CBDC legislation.
