Steven McWhirter

Steven McWhirter is Global Policy Lead at Binance. He brings over 25 years of experience in policy and regulation and is a recognised contributor to global policy discussions, with more than 120 publications and consultation responses spanning financial services, digital assets and emerging technology regulation. His work supports the company’s mission of increasing financial freedom and inclusion worldwide. He plays a leading role in global policy formation and regulatory engagement. He co-chairs the Global Working Group at The Digital Chamber and is a member of the Global Digital Finance Advisory Council, where he also co-chairs its APAC Policy Working Group. He is also active in Blockchain for Europe, where he previously served on the Board. His work spans stablecoins, tokenisation, digital asset market structure, CeDeFi and emerging areas such as prediction markets, with a focus on cross-border regulatory coherence. He advises on legislative and regulatory frameworks globally, working with policymakers, regulators, counsel and industry. Prior to Binance, Steven spent nearly a decade at the UK Financial Conduct Authority as a policy subject matter expert, contributing to early cryptoasset and distributed ledger technology frameworks and leading international regulatory coordination through managing the Secretariat of the Global Financial Innovation Network, a network of over 80 regulators and international organisations. His work also spanned international regulatory strategy, financial innovation, operational resilience, cloud and digital markets, including leadership of global engagement initiatives, cross-border regulatory partnerships and major international forums. Steven has also been instrumental in the design and implementation of gambling regulation in the UK and latterly the UAE. He helped establish the UK Gambling Commission and implement the Gambling Act 2005, and later led regulation and compliance for a prominent gaming operation in the UAE, supporting the launch of the country’s first national lottery. This cross-sector experience positions him at the intersection of financial, digital and gaming regulation, informing how frameworks adapt to converging, 24/7 cross-border markets shaped by tokenisation, automation and developments such as prediction markets. Steven is a graduate of the London School of Economics (LSE).

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