Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said that Binance.US was planning to launch an IPO within three years. The U.S. arm is also expected to close a large fundraising round soon.
Binance founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has revealed that the U.S. arm of the exchange plans to launch an IPO within three years. Zhao was speaking in a Zoom interview. The Information was the first to report the news.
Binance eyes IPO prospects
Zhao also said that Binance.US is close to completing a large private fundraising round. This is expected in the next two months and should diminish Zhao’s influence on the board of Binance.US. This fundraising news was reported last week, with the founder saying that the company was working to legitimize itself more.
Binance has been at the receiving end of scrutiny from regulators across the world. The United Kingdom, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Brazil are some of the major regions that have restricted services. Binance.US is a separate entity from Binance, which somewhat protects the company from any issues that might arise from regulatory scrutiny.
Binance has been making an effort to be more compliant with regulations in different jurisdictions. Among the actions it has taken is hiring a former treasury investigator as its Global AML chief. It has also implemented an “intermediate verification.”
Zhao also reportedly said that Binance.US was “just going to do what Coinbase did.” By the looks of it, several other crypto companies are planning the same.
Market might see many crypto IPO announcements
Coinbase’s IPO was one of the biggest cryptocurrency-related events so far this year. The exchange certainly gained a lot of attention, both inside and outside the market. And the reception has led to other companies considering the same.
Earlier in the year, the estimate was that as many as eight companies associated with the cryptocurrency market were planning IPOs or direct listings. That number has, in all likelihood, since gone up. Kraken, another major exchange, also plans to go public, as does Circle.
The market’s tremendous growth, both in terms of investment influx and recognition, has led to companies seeking to capitalize on it. The crypto market has become more “legitimate” this year, with investments from big companies and more accepting regulation.
That, in turn, should push crypto companies to go public, which would give them a big boost in the market. This is especially true for those seeking to cement themselves in the wider global market, with a public listing being a shiny badge of approval of legitimacy.