Binance continues to get more popular with Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX out of the picture, despite increased regulatory scrutiny

• Binance is extending its dominance in crypto trading since FTX collapsed in November.
• Its market share grew to 61.8% in February from 59.4% in January, CryptoCompare data showed.

Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, continues to expand its dominance since FTX collapsed in November.

According to data from CryptoCompare cited by CoinDesk, Binance increased its market share for the fourth consecutive month in February, growing to 61.8% from 59.4% in January. In spot volumes, the exchange saw a 13.7% monthly increase to $504 billion, a new record high.

Coinbase was a distant second with trading volume of $39.9 billion, down 29% from the prior month, and Kraken was third with $19.3 billion, down 11%.

The rise in popularity comes as global regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, inquire into the business operations of Binance. For example, SEC officials said Binance's US arm may be operating an unregistered securities exchange, though the company denied this claim.

"Despite the recent criticism the exchange has received, market participants continue to take shelter on Binance under the premise that the largest exchange is seen as one of the safer trading venues," Jacob Joseph, an analyst at CryptoCompare, told CoinDesk.

Meanwhile, former rival exchange FTX continues to wade through bankruptcy procedures and is effectively out of the picture as far as competition.

The defunct exchange is still trying to claw back funds to pay back creditors and customers that got burned in the collapse.

And an army of staffers working for FTX just billed a total $38 million for a month of work to start the year, court records show.

As for FTX's new chief executive, John Ray III, who previously helped clean up Enron in the early 2000s, he submitted a $305,565 bill for the month of February.