Binance establishes three entities in Ireland to undo regulatory red flags
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform, is trying to upgrade its regulatory profile in Europe, having registered three more firms in Ireland within the past 10 days.
A report by Ireland’s Independent news outlet identified the newly-registered entities as Binance (APAC) Holdings, Binance (Services) Holdings and Binance Technologies.
The publication confirms that Binance’s new offshoots were all established on September 27. They list CEO Changpeng Zhao as the sole director who signed registration documents on September 10 and September 13.
“The company documents list the place of business for the Binance firms as an accountancy office above an athletics shop at a small, nondescript building on Dublin’s southside,” the Independent said.
The major exchange has already registered a subsidiary in Ireland last year under the brand name Binance (Ireland) Holdings. Interestingly, it lists CZ’s residential address as being in Malta and confirms that he is a Canadian citizen.
In 2020, the financial markets watchdog in Malta refuted media reports and other rumors going around that Binance is located in the country. The regulator further stated that Binance, originally founded in China, has never been granted any authorization to offer financial services in or from Malta and is therefore not supervised by the MFSA.
At the time, Changpeng Zhao came out to assure its users that all claims about being based in Malta or opening offices there were completely untrue, which implicitly means that MFSA’s warning makes no sense.
The fresh developments seemingly come as Binance seeks more licenses to undo regulatory red flags. The exchange also said it’s looking into establishing multiple headquarters and new offices in response to a slew of warnings issued in several jurisdictions this year.
CZ even raised the prospect of stepping down and confirmed that Binance was on the lookout for global executives with a strong regulatory background to help them pivot towards becoming a regulated financial institution.
The cryptocurrency exchange has recently shut down its business across Europe, as well as Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia, as a “proactive” measure, according to Binance CEO.
Elsewhere, Binance’s Singapore entity has already submitted a license application to the country’s regulator. As such, Binance.sg is currently exempt from holding a license until the review of its license application is completed.
Additionally, the American outpost of the world’s biggest crypto exchange is eyeing a potential IPO route to go public within three years. Although the company generated $800 million–$1 billion in profit last year, Binance.US is looking at a proper way to get VC money. Namely, CZ expects the US affiliate to close a large private funding round within the next two months in a bid to reduce its dependence on the global parent entity.
