Bloomberg New Economy Forum

Binance's US entity expects to close funding round in 'a month or two'

Binance founder and chief executive Zhao Changpeng speaks at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, on Nov 19, 2021. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

SINGAPORE - The United States unit of cryptocurrency exchange Binance expects to close its funding round in "about a month or two", founder and chief executive Zhao Changpeng said on Friday (Nov 19).

Mr Zhao told the last day of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum that Binance.US is raising "a couple hundred million dollars", but acknowledged that he does not know the exact number.

He also noted that there is now a "playbook" for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US given how rival cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has listed.

"From an IPO perspective, it's better to have a few rounds of financing," he added.

Binance.US said in August that it was seeking at least US$100 million in a funding round.

Its parent company, Binance, is the world's largest crypto exchange with several entities around the world, including its Singapore-based affiliate Binance Asia Services.

It is not clear if the parent company would list but Mr Zhao is not ruling anything out: "But Binance.com is a much larger entity and we also need to look at regulations at different parts of the world to see where to IPO."

He also noted that he is not involved in the day-to-day operations of Binance.US, adding that the only connection between the parent company and the US entity is that he chairs the US firm's board.

But Binance.com provides the product and technology for Binance.US, he said.

Mr Zhao also disclosed during the session that Binance has decided on the set-up for its new global headquarters but he was not able to announce it on Friday as the firm is still communicating with regulators.

It will be able to "publish the size" of this set-up shortly, he said.

Mr Zhao pointed out that there are a number of regions that are "very pro-crypto", such as the United Arab Emirates, France and Singapore, but also stressed that these are not necessarily the locations for its headquarters.

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