Binance appoints top FCA exec as global director of regulatory policy

Binance, the crypto exchange, has appointed a senior Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) executive as its global director of regulatory policy.

Steven McWhirter has spent more than nine years at the regulator and latterly worked as a strategy and engagement manager in the FCA’s data, technology and innovation unit.

McWhirter also contributed to the Kalifa review of UK fintech, in news which was first reported by The Block.

"I've been very fortunate in my time at the FCA to be involved in many national, European and global policy initiatives and debates, particularly in respect of financial services regulation of technology, where working with many great regulators, firms and global bodies gave me a ringside seat during a fascinating period in policy making," he wrote on LinkedIn. 

The appointment of McWhirter marks the latest example of a senior finance public sector executive switching to a commercial crypto role.

The Block also recently reported that Varun Paul, the long-standing Bank of England executive who latterly headed up the bank’s fintech hub,  has left to take up a role at Fireblocks.

It is thought that Paul will take a role at the firm’s corporate strategy unit.

In 2021, Austrian exchange Bitpanda hired FCA official Matthias Bauer-Langgartner as its managing director for UK and Ireland. 

Last year, Binance found itself in hot water with the UK regulator after failing to meet anti-money laundering regulations earlier this year.