EP. 82 | Inside Binance: Eleanor Hughes and Steven McWhirter on Regulation, Compliance, and Growth

Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange — and at its core are people working to shape the future of digital finance. In this episode of TRM Talks, Ari sits down with Eleanor Hughes (General Counsel( and Steven McWhirter, (Global Policy Lead), for an insider conversation on how Binance is navigating today’s evolving global regulatory environment.

Eleanor reflects on her journey from international law to leading legal strategy at Binance, where legal decisions are central to innovation. She dives into what it means to “write the textbooks” on crypto law, especially in an industry where nearly every precedent is being formed in real time.Steven brings his decades-long experience in UK financial regulation to the conversation, offering a rare perspective on bridging traditional policy structures with emerging technologies. From drafting the world’s first cloud outsourcing guidance to shaping global crypto frameworks, his role now focuses on helping Binance set the standard for compliance while driving the ecosystem forward.Key takeaways from this discussion include:

• How Binance balances innovation and regulation globally
• The future of crypto compliance, from policy formation to legal interpretation
• Why collaboration with regulators is key to building responsibly

Together, Eleanor and Steven offer a unique behind-the-scenes look at the intersection of compliance, innovation, and industry leadership — discussing issues from banking access to multilateral cooperation with regulators in Dubai, the EU, and the US.