Binance U.S, a cryptocurrency exchange and one of the subsidiaries of Binance Group that operates in the United States, is looking to go public. This news comes as the exchange is facing a lot of heat from regulators around the world.
The announcement was made by Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao popularly known as “CZ” at the blockchain virtual summit “REDeFiNE Tomorrow” 2021.
CZ spoke about the ongoing regulatory issues and plans the exchange has for the future. He expressed his optimism on Binance facing a lot more regulations in the future, noting that the company “is in the mindset of shifting from a tech startup to a financial service.”
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He reiterated that Binance had been aggressively increasing its compliance efforts, including hiring former regulators. Last week, at the Binance 4th anniversary, CZ stated that it had increased its compliance team by 500% and expects to increase by another 1000% by the end of the year.
The CEO admitted that the company has not been fully complying and cooperating with regulators, stating that their relationship with regulators has not been the firm’s “strong suit,” and pointing out the urgent need to localize compliance communications.
CZ stated that regardless of the current regulatory crisis Binance is facing, he does not rule out the possibility of Binance US going public one day, as the exchange is seeking ways to go for an initial public offering (IPO). He stated, “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.”
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Bottomline
Binance US is a subsidiary of Binance Group and it operates as a separate entity from the parent company. Binance US was Launched in 2019 and receives branding support from the parent company. Brian Brooks, who was the former acting comptroller of the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, became CEO of Binance US earlier this year to help the exchange compete with other exchanges like Coinbase and expand its operations across the United States.
Also, to add, Binance has been subject to a lot of regulatory sanctions and investigations from global regulators, including the United States. The States Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have been investigating Binance for alleged illegal trading activity involving users in the United States. In March, Binance reportedly became the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regarding alleged trades by U.S. customers.
Binance’s native token BNB is currently trading at $293.20, down 0.09% for the day, as of the time of writing this report. Binance has also recently burned the equivalent of $400 million BNB token as part of its obligation to burn 20% of its quarterly earnings.