Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has no plans to go public anytime soon—and it's not just because they're comfortably profitable. There's a lot happening behind the scenes that's keeping Binance away from the IPO spotlight.
In a recent interview, Binance's new CEO, Richard Teng, revealed his main objective: steering Binance toward a stable, enduring future without the burden of public market scrutiny. This marks a significant shift from the days when Changpeng “CZ” Zhao was at the helm.
CZ's departure wasn't voluntary—it was part of a multi-billion-dollar settlement with the U.S. government that forced him to step down from the company he built. Now, Richard is transforming Binance from a founder-led operation to one governed by a board of directors, focusing on long-term stability over the quick gains of an IPO.
With traditional financial institutions diving into crypto, many speculated that Binance might join the IPO wave. But Richard quickly shut down those rumors, stating:
"𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐏𝐎 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞."
Since its early days, Binance has been profitable, according to Richard. The company has managed its finances prudently, and going public simply isn't part of the plan. Instead, Binance is doubling down on compliance, increasing its spending in this area by 36% last year compared to 2022.
CZ's exit came after Binance was hit with a $4.3 billion fine from U.S. regulators for sanctions violations and inadequate anti-money laundering (AML) measures. CZ even admitted to failing in these areas, which resulted in a four-month prison sentence. Richard clarified:
"𝐀𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐂𝐙 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲'𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦 "
Despite CZ's departure, Binance co-founder Yi He remains deeply involved, overseeing HR and humorously calling herself the "chief customer service officer." Richard praised her as "highly talented and independent-minded."
When asked if Binance might raise funds to reduce CZ's ownership, Richard sidestepped the question, stating that such decisions rest with the shareholders and the board.
Even with CZ's legal troubles, Richard asserted that it hasn't been a significant hurdle in getting regulated globally:
"𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬. 𝐈𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞'𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦."
Binance continues to secure licenses and make settlements in key markets like Dubai, India, Thailand, and Brazil. While Richard has his hands full, one thing is clear: Binance is staying private, profitable, and far from the grasp of U.S. markets.
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