Binance.US expects to raise additional capital from an anticipated funding round, according to Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.

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“There is significant interest from top-level investors, and they expect they will close a round shortly,” Zhao said. The Binance CEO also spoke of how the company would be working to further legitimize itself through its investor base. For instance, Binance.US, “will have a diverse cap table with reputable investors and an independent board with proper governance, including the addition of new outside investors and independent members,” he said.

This prospective funding round would come shortly after the resignation of recently hired Binace.US CEO Brian Brooks. He had earlier been looking to raise at least $100 million from investors, according to the New York Times.

Zhao also expressed confidence in the exchange going public in the US in near future, modeled after Coinbase in the spring. Although its US branch says it’s independent of Binance, the exact ownership structure is unclear.

Binance compliance hires

What is also unclear is how these ambitions will be affected by the ongoing scrutiny that the exchange has been facing recently. The financial authorities of multiple countries have warned against and shut down Binance in their domains, while the crypto exchange also faces a probe from the Department of Justice and IRS into potential illicit activities.

In order to appease regulators, Binance has been devoting considerable resources to scooping up employees with government experience. These hires include former executives from the Financial Action Task Force, Max Baucus, a former Democratic Senator, and former US Treasury investigator Greg Monahan as its global head of money laundering Additionally, Binance is courting Singapore Exchange’s former chief regulatory officer Richard Teng as its chief in the Asian financial hub.

Earlier this week, Zhao himself stated that his top priority is to hire people with compliance and regulatory experience. The Chinese-Canadian recently admitted that he is spending almost all his time on compliance, and is “not really involved in the day-to-day operations of the exchange.”