Binance chief Changpeng Zhao (aka CZ) has shut down rumours that the global exchange is mulling severing ties with United States crypto projects owing to increased scrutiny from a host of government agencies and regulators.
Binance Says It Won’t Cut Ties With U.S. Business Partners
Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world by trading volume, says it does not intend to delist U.S.-based cryptocurrencies.
In a Friday tweet, CZ wrote “false” in response to a Bloomberg report claiming Binance was looking to end its relationship with “intermediary firms such as banks and services firms and is reassessing venture-capital investments in the US”. According to the publication, Binance is also contemplating delisting U.S.-based projects such as the USD Coin (USDC), which is issued from the States by Circle and the exchange’s top rival, Coinbase.
CZ responded that “blockchain has no borders” when quizzed by a Twitter user about what a “U.S.-based token” even was. “We pulled back on some potential investments or bids on bankrupt companies in the US for now. Seek permission first,” the Binance CEO added in a follow-up tweet.
The news comes as regulators in the U.S. have turned up the heat on various crypto players in recent weeks. Kraken being recently forced to shutter its cryptocurrency staking program for U.S. customers and pay $30 million in penalties is a case in point.
Also, earlier this week, the New York Department of Financial Services ordered Paxos to stop minting Binance USD (BUSD) due to “several unresolved issues related to Paxos’ oversight of its relationship with Binance”. Curiously enough, the crypto firm’s own stablecoin was not impacted by NYDFS’s directive.
Perhaps it’s worth mentioning that Binance does not offer crypto services to Americans, but it has a purportedly independent U.S. partner, Binance US.
Nonetheless, Binance’s chief strategy officer Patrick Hillmann admitted on Wednesday that the exchange had “gaps” in its compliance with U.S. regulators and is prepared to pay fines to settle the investigations.
