Binance CEO tussles company’s ‘Chinese’ label

Binance’s founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has made it clear that his company is not a Chinese one. 

CZ; Binance is not Chinese

The CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange stated in a blog post: “Binance was never formed in China. In China, we do not yet have any legal entities, nor do we intend to.”

Zhao continued, “I believe it’s vital today that we come forth with these facts,” adding that the business does not function like a “Chinese corporation culturally.”

He claimed that because Binance and every other crypto exchange “have been declared a criminal entity in China,” it is currently impossible for Binance to be a Chinese corporation.

“The implication is that we are covertly working for the Chinese government because we employ people of Chinese ancestry and perhaps because I am ethnically Chinese. Special interests, the media, and even politicians who despise our business find us to be an easy target. It is clear that this is untrue.” 

Claims surface after Binance’s unveils Voyager bid plans

According to a person familiar with the situation, the U.S. division of cryptocurrency exchange Binance is renewing its offer to acquire the insolvent loan platform Voyager Digital. 

The news came days after cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which had agreed to buy Voyager’s assets after reaching a contract in September, declared bankruptcy due to a lack of cash.

This week, Voyager terminated its agreement with FTX and said that it was in active negotiations with a number of rival bidders.

C. Zhao and China connection

Two months after the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprisings, Zhao left China when he was 12 years old together with the rest of his family.

The Canadian embassy expedited visas at that time, despite the fact that getting a passport and a Canadian visa typically takes seven years.

Zhao was born, raised, and attended McGill University in Montreal. I am a Canadian citizen, period, he declared.

In order to build an IT start-up with five other foreigners, he returned to China in 2005.

C. Zhao attempted to launch a number of different start-up projects between 2005 and 2015 before entering the cryptocurrency industry. He founded Bijie Tech two years prior to founding Binance, which offered platforms for exchanges-as-a-service to other exchanges.

Then, in 2017, Bijie Tech and other exchanges in China were shut down. On July 14, 2017, Zhao, together with a few others from Bijie Tech, launched Binance. The Chinese government announced in September 2017 that cryptocurrency exchanges were not permitted to run in China.

Thirty years after leaving China with his family in 1989, the CEO of Binance said he saw the irony of being “forced to leave China” once more. The Binance leadership team decided to operate remotely following the Chinese government’s decision.

Is Binance a Chinese company?

In terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies, Binance is the largest crypto exchange in the world according to Coinmarketcap. Changpeng Zhao, the developer who had previously produced high frequency trading software and a naturalized Canadian, is the brains behind Binance. Initially situated in China, Binance later relocated its headquarters there just before the country’s government started to regulate cryptocurrency trading.

Despite being a separate legal business, Binance.US utilizes Binance’s brand, technology, and products.

According to CZ, “It should not be necessary to live with the stigma of having Chinese ancestry or having immigrated from China. Furthermore, it shouldn’t permit disparaging remarks, fabrications, or calls into doubt someone’s allegiance to their nation.”