Former US Senator Will Chair New Binance Global Advisory Board

Max Baucus, the former US ambassador to China, will lead the debuting Binance advisory unit tasked with navigating regulatory complexity

article-image

Binance’s Changpeng Zhao

share

key takeaways

  • Advisors include the ex-head of the French Treasury, the former president of the Central Bank of Brazil and a member of the UK House of Lords
  • The board’s creation comes as the US and other governments continue mulling crypto regulation

Binance has created an advisory board led by a former US senator to help the crypto exchange navigate some of the most pressing regulatory issues facing the space. 

Max Baucus, an ex-Democratic senator from Montana who was US ambassador to China, is chair of the new group, the company revealed Thursday. The advisory board recently convened in Paris.

“Of all the technologies with the potential to create positive disruption, the world of crypto, blockchain, and Web3 is among the most exciting and the most promising,” Baucus said in a statement.

“That’s why it is a great pleasure to participate in setting up the Binance Global Advisory Board, and bringing the group’s unrivaled collective expertise to bear in solving complex problems with a socially positive outcome.”

Baucus was first elected to the Senate in 1978 and went on to become Montana’s longest serving senator. He was chair of the Committee on Finance during his fifth term and left office in 2014. He was nominated by President Barack Obama that same year to be America’s ambassador to China, a role he held until January 2017.

David Plouffe, a former senior advisor to President Obama, will also be on the board as a US representative. Other members reside in Nigeria, Korea, France, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Germany.

These advisors include:

  • Ibukun Awosika, former chair of the First Bank of Nigeria and founder of the Chair Centre Group; 
  • Hyung-Rin Bang, advisor of the Korea Presidential Committee; 
  • Bruno Bézard, managing partner at Cathay Capital, former economic advisor to the French Prime Minister and ex-head of the French Treasury; 
  • Henrique de Campos Meirelles, former president of the Central Bank of Brazil; 
  • Leslie Maasdorp, chief financial officer of the New Development Bank; 
  • Adalberto Palma, former senior advisor to the President of Mexico; 
  • Christin Schäfer, founder of acs plus
  • Ed Vaizey, a member of the UK House of Lords;
  • David Wright, chair of Eurofi

“We’re supercharging our ability to manage regulatory complexity by tapping into the highest level of expertise available anywhere in the world,” Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said in a statement.

“This collaboration between Binance and the leading experts of the [global advisory board] is a testament to our focus on compliance, transparency and ensuring a collaborative relationship with the world’s regulators as they develop sensible regulations worldwide.”

The creation of the new regulation-focused board comes as governments continue to mull how to regulate the crypto industry. The White House published its first crypto “framework” last week about six months after President Joe Biden issued an executive order focused on ensuring the responsible development of digital assets.

Reuters reported earlier this month that US authorities were investigating whether Binance violated the Bank Secrecy Act. A spokesperson told Blockworks at the time that the company is regularly in contact with regulators to answer questions they might have. 


Don’t miss the next big story – join our free daily newsletter.

Tags

Upcoming Events

HYATT REGENCY SALT LAKE CITY

TUES, OCT. 8, 2024

Guided by the expertise of Blockworks Research Analysts team, this one day event will feature senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and developers from across the crypto industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an immersive experience to explore the latest trends, […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Pack your bags, anon — we’re heading west! Join us in the beautiful Salt Lake City for the third installment of Permissionless. Come for the alpha, stay for the fresh air. Permissionless III promises unforgettable panels, killer networking opportunities, and mountains […]

recent research

hivemapper.jpeg

Research

We believe crypto market participants overlook Hivemapper’s fundamental potential due to a poor understanding of both the niche map data market and Hivemapper’s positioning relative to incumbents. Hivemapper’s token model catalyzes both a cost and product advantage via unmatched map freshness and near real-time accuracy, which is its wedge into a market characterized by stale data and high data collection costs. Its current and potential future product suite may represent one of the strongest possibilities for PMF in crypto today.

article-image

👨‍⚖️ SBF’s courtroom sequel: Plus, Coinbase’s legal loss was DeFi’s gain

article-image

Public mining companies have been acquiring sites, refreshing machine fleets and diversifying business models in preparation for the event

article-image

Exploit shows centralization can sometimes be an asset

article-image

The Fidelity Ethereum Fund, like other proposed ETH ETFs, seeks to stake a portion of its assets, according to the firm’s Wednesday registration statement

article-image

The DAO first voted on enabling SAFE transfers over a year ago