Changpeng Zhao – CEO of Binance – revealed that Binance US (the US arm of the cryptocurrency exchange) plans to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in a fundraising round. Additionally, Binance will soon disclose where its new headquarters will be.
Financing cycles before the IPO
Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, Zhao (commonly known as CZ) admitted that he did not know the exact number of the new funding. However, it will be a substantial sum, most probably followed by some others before Binance US targets an Initial Public Offering:
“I think it’s a few hundred million dollars. For an IPO perspective, it’s probably best to have a few rounds of financing before that.”
It should be noted that two months ago Zhao set a timeline for a possible Binance US public offering. Back then, he stated that the initiative should be completed in the next three years as the company “is going to do what Coinbase did.”
CZ also said the cryptocurrency exchange will move to a new headquarters, as an official announcement will reveal “very soon” where.
Binance, similar to other leading digital asset exchanges, has seen its trading volumes booming recently since most cryptocurrencies were charting all-time highs in the previous weeks. When asked if his company made billions of dollars in profit, CZ replied, “roughly, yes.” By generating such gains, Binance plans to start offering lower fees than its competitors, the CEO added.
CZ Wants Regulations
The world’s largest cryptocurrency platform has received regulatory backlashes from different watchdogs over the previous months, such as the UK’s FCA, the EU, and the FSCA of South Africa. The latter said that Binance does not have the registration to offer brokerage services or give investment recommendations in the country.
Attempting to resolve these issues, in September, Zhao asserted that his firm would change its structure. He vowed to turn the company into a licensed financial institution with centralized headquarters:
“Four years ago, we wanted to adopt decentralization, but we are running a decentralized exchange. We need a shift. We need to enhance. We are making those changes to make it easier for regulators to work with us.”
During his last appearance, Zhao reiterated his position that he supports the implementation of rules in the digital asset industry:
“We want regulation, I am not a complete libertarian, I’m not an anarchist.”
