Binance US weighs plans to go public, CEO CZ says

abdelaziz Fathi

Binance.US, the American outpost of the world’s biggest crypto exchange, has seemingly plans to follow Coinbase’s path and go public one day.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao “CZ” said the US arm of the global platform is considering an initial public offering (IPO) despite the ongoing regulatory crackdown.

Speaking at the blockchain virtual summit REDeFiNE Tomorrow 2021, the CEO said his exchange is not in any hurry to float its US operations. CZ added that Binance, the parent company, is comfortable with its cash reserves and growth rates and sees no reason to rock the boat with a debut on the public markets.

“Binance US is looking at the IPO route. Most regulators are familiar with a certain pattern, or having headquarters, having corporate structure. But we are setting up those structures to make it easier for an IPO to happen,” the boss of Binance said.

Binance has launched its operations in the US market in late 2019 via a partnership with a FinCEN-registered company, BAM Trading Services. The exchange has licensed its matching engine and wallet technologies to its US partner, which handles operations in compliance according to local regulations.

CZ also revealed that he expects Binance to face heavy scrutiny in the future as the influential exchange is shifting from “a tech startup to a financial service.”

The CFTC confirmed last year that it had investigated whether Binance broke US laws by allowing Americans to trade cryptocurrency derivatives on the platform. Prior to the CFTC probe, Forbes published leaked documents that allegedly describe how CEO Changpeng planned to evade US regulations and profit from American investors.

Although US residents were not allowed to access Binance’s trading services, potential customers were taught how to mask their actual IP through virtual VPNs to disguise their locations.

Furthermore, the files checked by Forbes staff explicitly mention that Binance execs planned to undermine the ability of “anti-money laundering and U.S. sanctions enforcement to detect illicit activity,” and distracting all US watchdogs.

Elsewhere, Binance is facing a growing regulatory crackdown on multiple fronts. Most recently, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) restricted the exchange from carrying out regulated activities in the country.

Back in May, Binance’s UK arm was forced to withdraw its application to register with the FCA due to lapses in anti-money laundering procedures. Binance was also ordered to add a notice in a prominent place on its website showing users from the UK that it is not permitted to offer regulated activity.

Brazil’s financial markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), also banned the influential crypto exchange from offering derivative products in the country.

Read this next

Digital Assets

Cathie Wood’s sponsored Bitcoin ETF sees historic $200 million inflows

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), co-sponsored by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, registered historic inflows exceeding $200 million on Wednesday, signaling a robust appetite among investors for Bitcoin-centric investments.

Digital Assets

Sam Bankman-Fried might see his 25-year sentence halved

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison by a Manhattan court on Thursday. This comes after he was convicted of defrauding customers and investors, with Judge Lewis Kaplan highlighting the potential future risks posed by Bankman-Fried.

Technical Analysis

EURJPY Technical Analysis Report 28 March, 2024

EURJPY currency pair under the bearish pressure after the pair reversed down from the major resistance level 164.25, which also stopped the sharp weekly uptrend at the end of last year,

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Hits $9.9M, MultiversX & MINA Price Predictions Show Green

Read about BlockDAG’s promising $10 prediction and insights on MultiversX Price Prediction as MINA’s potential unfolds.

Digital Assets

Rockstar Co-Founder and All-star Line Up Join Advisory Board to Take Metacade into Post Beta Orbit

Metacade, the revolutionary Web3 gaming platform, prepares to streak out of beta with a slew of ground-breaking initiatives that will redefine the way blockchain games are developed.

Retail FX

Prop firm The Funded Trader shuts down, claims relaunch in April

Prop trading firm The Funded Trader has ceased all operations, with claims for a relaunch in the near future.

Digital Assets

Ethereum-Based Tokenized Real Estate Platform USP Launches On Republic

How This Californian Startup Is Revolutionizing Real Estate Investment through Ethereum-Based Tokenization.

Digital Assets

Sui Spikes in Weekly DEX Volume, Joins Top 10 of All Blockchains

March DEX volume on Sui stands at over $2.88B – up more than 49% from February – with decentralized exchange Cetus and wholesale liquidity layer DeepBook leading.

Digital Assets

Prisma Finance suffers $10 million crypto exploit, attack ongoing

Liquid staking protocol Prisma Finance fell victim to a security exploit on March 28, resulting in nearly $10 million in Prisma mkUSD and wrapped stETH being stolen by hackers.

<