Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance is mulling an initial public offering (IPO) for its US business in the next three years, said its CEO Zhao Changpeng.
“Binance.US is just going to do what Coinbase did,” said Zhao, according to The Information.
A large private fundraising round will also be held in the next two months for Binance.US, Zhao told the news agency. This should reduce the CEO’s control of the board.
A profitable business
In 2020, Binance reached US$2 trillion in total trading volume, and its Binance Coin or BNB is now the third-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Binance chalked in US$800 million to US$1 billion in profit last year.
Zhao had earlier told the media that Binance was not looking to go down an IPO route. He then had said that the firm was cash-sufficient, profitable, and growing.
In an interview with CNBC, Zhao also said he’s willing to step down from his CEO role as the company seeks to become a regulated financial institution. While he has no immediate plans to give up his role, he revealed that Binance has a succession plan in place.
The IPO interest comes as Zhao made it to the Forbes list of Singapore’s 50 richest, where he took the 22nd spot.
45-year-old Zhao has amassed a net worth of US$1.9 billion (as of August 10), thanks in part to the 30 per cent stake in Binance.
Regulatory hurdles
The world’s largest crypto exchange has been under pressure from global regulators including Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore due to concerns over the use of crypto in money laundering and risks to consumers.
Following this string of clampdowns, Zhao had expressed his intention to cooperate with global regulators and be “fully compliant” to protect its users and the crypto industry.
“We need to be a licensed financial institution everywhere that we operate,” Zhao said during a press conference held in July.
He added that if regulators expect Binance to have a headquarters, then Binance will establish regional headquarters around the world. This will give them a “very easy to understand structure.” However, he revealed that Binance has not decided on specific locations yet.
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