Binance, the world's leading crypto exchange is planning to establish multiple regional headquarters around the globe, said the CEO of the exchange Changpeng Zhao. The comments came in light of growing global regulatory scrutiny against the crypto exchange. It is currently facing regulatory actions in nearly a dozen countries including Hong Kong, Thailand, and Itlay.
The crypto exchange had earlier ignored similar regulatory warnings and the need for a headquarter, but now seems to have decided to comply as regulatory pressure now threatens its global dominance.
Regulators over the past month have highlighted that Binances lack of headquarters is a big concern. CZ said they are working to become licensed everywhere and will work with regulators to sort out current issues. The crypto exchange has also been warned by regulators for offering services without registering or obtaining the necessary permission to do so.
At a time when rival crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and FTX have made significant progress in terms of user base expansion and regulatory compliance, while Binance has faced regulatory blows one after the another.
Will Binance Lag Behind？
Binance had earlier claimed to have headquarters in Malta and later in the Cayman islands but compliance problems forced it to move away from the mentioned “crypto heavens.”
The crypto exchange has made a series of regulatory decisions over the past week to mend its way with global regulators. It recently cut down its leverage offering from 125X to 20X for new customers while promising to implement the same for existing ones in the coming weeks. Binances high leverage offering was also pointed as an issue by regulators claiming such high leverage put traders at higher risks especially in an unregulated market like crypto.
Zhao is also reportedly looking for his replacement as the next CEO of the crypto exchange, the CEO revealed during a virtual summit conversation.
“Right now I‘m looking for a senior person with a strong compliance background, with a strong regulatory background to lead the entire organization, maybe become the new Binance CEO,” CZ said. “I’m a tech entrepreneur, I‘ve led the company for four years and it’s good, and we‘ve got to go through this pivot. I don’t think Im the best person to lead that effort. I think having somebody with a very strong regulatory background is better.”
