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Binance Seeks Lobbyist as EU Finalizes Crypto Rules

The leading crypto exchange wants to extend its influence into the increasingly regulated bloc.

European Parliament building in Brussels (FrankyDeMeyer/Getty Images)
European Parliament building in Brussels (FrankyDeMeyer/Getty Images)

Binance is looking to hire a full-time European Union lobbyist at a time when the bloc is finalizing wide-ranging crypto regulation.

The “Policy Comms Director” would be “responsible for shaping a communications narrative and creating impactful campaigns around corporate, regulatory and political developments impacting the company across the EU,” said a job ad posted on the Binance website. Other responsibilities would include handling blogs and social media that would be designed to reach policymakers.

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The job would be based full time in Brussels, unlike many other Binance positions that can be done remotely. The location would allow access to officials from the European Commission and European Parliament responsible for proposing and agreeing to new laws that could affect the crypto sector.

The EU is set to formalize its Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation in April, which would impose consumer protection and financial stability norms on wallet providers and exchanges. Further laws could be set to come in other areas such as crypto lending and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Binance is registered in a number of EU countries including France, Italy and Cyprus, and is already a member of Brussels-based umbrella lobbying organization Blockchain for Europe. Martin Bruncko, Binance’s executive vice-president for Europe, even suggested last year the exchange's headquarters could one day be sited in Europe.

Binance is also recruiting for more junior policy communications roles in Latin America and Asia, according to the website. A spokesperson for Binance did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for on-the-record comment.

Read more: MiCA at the Door: How European Crypto Firms Are Getting Ready for Sweeping Legislation

Jack Schickler

Jack Schickler was a CoinDesk reporter focused on crypto regulations, based in Brussels, Belgium. He previously wrote about financial regulation for news site MLex, before which he was a speechwriter and policy analyst at the European Commission and the U.K. Treasury. He doesn’t own any crypto.

Jack Schickler