Cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, is set to centralise its business structure in the wake of intensifying regulatory concern over the firm’s lack of systemic transparency.
This is not the first time the company has found itself in hot water, having been embroiled in a string of controversies regarding money laundering.
According to a notice published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in August 2021, Binance has previously refused to declare where certain operations are held, who its key stakeholders are, and the legal and regulatory status of its products. As it stands, Binance operates through a sprawling network of offices around the world and has no ‘official’ headquarters.
Binance’s chief executive, Changpeng Zhao, has now announced that the business will quell regulatory concerns by reorganising itself into a centralised entity. “As we run a centralised exchange, we have come to realise that we need to have a centralised entity to work well with regulators,” Zhao explained to the South China Morning Post. “We need to have clear records of stakeholders’ ownership, transparency and risk controls.”
Along with regulators in Japan, Hong Kong, and Italy, the FCA has prohibited Binance’s UK entity from operating in the country.