Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has spent years trying to quench regulatory fires globally, but governments are now asking the firm for help with cryptocurrencies.

That’s according to CEO Richard Teng, who told the Financial Times that several countries have sought advice on establishing national crypto reserves and regulations ― a major narrative flip for a company accused in many jurisdictions of regulatory misdeeds.

Teng said crypto-friendly policies under US President Donald Trump have spurred other nations to follow suit. Under Trump, legal hostility to crypto seems to have given way to a less strict regulatory regime.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has ended several high-profile investigations and enforcement actions against crypto businesses, including Coinbase and Uniswap.

In March, Trump signed an executive order to create a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, and a US digital asset stockpile to hold cryptocurrencies confiscated by US law enforcement.

But on Monday, Bo Hines, executive director of Trump’s digital assets advisory council, said the government was considering funding Bitcoin purchases using proceeds from tariffs.

The US is “way ahead” of other countries in matters relating to crypto regulations and establishing national digital asset stockpiles, Teng said.

Teng’s revelations cast Binance, the regulatory laggard, in a new light ― one that puts the company in the rarefied halls of government policy influence. It comes amid reports of negotiations between Binance and US officials to lessen the government’s oversight of the crypto exchange.

In 2023, Binance pleaded guilty to violating money laundering regulations. Binance paid a $4.3 billion fine for not preventing sanctioned actors, including terrorists and drug traffickers, from funnelling funds through its platform. The company’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, was also imprisoned for four months.

But even as it attempts to climb the legitimacy ladder, Binance’s reputational scars might not fade so easily.

The company is under investigation in France for similar offences that saw it docked a hefty fine in the US.

Nigerian authorities haven’t let up their legal assault on the company, one year after it detained two of its executives and forced it to shut down operations in the country.

In February, Nigeria’s government approached a federal judge to levy an $81 billion fine on Binance for unpaid taxes and economic distortion. Binance is also facing trials for money laundering and tax evasion in the West African nation.

But Teng says the company is in a better regulatory shape ― one that government regulators “appreciate much more compared to the past,” he told the Financial Times.

The Binance CEO said the company has invested in improving compliance with regulatory provisions across the globe.

Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. To share tips or information about stories, please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.