The cryptocurrency exchange Binance is in talks to attract investment from several sovereign wealth funds. In an interview with the Financial Times, Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao said the move would help counter pressure from government regulators.
“But this could also tie us to particular countries with which we want to be a little more cautious,” he added.
Zhao did not name potential investors. He said the process will take a long time, and the size of their stakes “will not be small”.
to attract “a couple hundred million dollars” ahead of the IPO. He also did not rule out a listing of the parent company on the exchange in the future.
In 2021, Binance ran afoul of several financial regulators—the supervisory authorities Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and a number of other countries issued warnings to investors about the company’s activities.
In June, the UK Financial Conduct Authority prohibited Binance Markets Limited from any regulated activity in the country without prior written approval.
Against this backdrop Zhao published an open letter, in which he outlined the exchange’s plans to ensure regulatory compliance and customer protection.
In August the company introduced mandatory user verification. In November its head noted that there is a “small group of people” who disliked such a measure, but 97% users undergo Know Your Customer (KYC).
Zhao told the FT that Binance is an advocate of clearer regulation in the crypto space. He said he is not worried about potential illicit activity on the platform, as the company is “better than banks” at complying with the relevant rules.
At the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore Zhao said that Binance’s daily transaction volume had reached $170 billion. By way of comparison, two years ago the figure was $10–20 billion, four years ago around $300 million.
Earlier in November Binance published a document «10 fundamental rights of crypto users», intended to form the basis for discussion and development of industry regulation.
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