While it is far from unheard of for a prominent new company to keep its inner workings close to the vest, leading crypto exchange Binance has represented a particular mystery for investors and regulators alike. As Binance is not a publicly traded company, it is not obliged to disclose important figures such as revenues or cash reserves, and even the location of its operations have not been made public knowledge.
In a sector characterized by dramatic crashes and other reversals, this lack of transparency from Binance has drawn criticism from voices across the industry, particularly for a company that services more than half of all cryptocurrency transactions worldwide. Former SEC Office of Internet Enforcement Chief John Reed Stark described the company as a “black box,” saying in a recent interview, “There is absolutely no transparency, no sunlight, no confirmation of any kind about its financial position.”
For its part, Binance disputes this judgment of its transparency of operations in the strongest possible terms. Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillman described the burden of disclosure the company is under and stressed that it is in full compliance with these laws, saying to Reuters, “The amount of corporate and financial information that has to be disclosed to regulators in those markets is immense, often requiring a six-month-long disclosure process. We are a private company and are not required to publicize our corporate finances.”
