Hemant Singh – Mumbai Uncensored, 14 March 2022
Say what you like about Binance and the controversy surrounding the world’s most prolific cryptocurrency exchange – they’re certainly making some big moves towards the mass adoption of blockchain and digital assets.
Binance intends to go on a ‘spree’ of corporate acquisitions. The most intriguing aspect, though, is that these target firms are not crypto-related!
In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Binance founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao, CZ, had the following to say:
“We want to identify and invest in one or two targets in every economic sector and try to bring them into crypto… The strategy is about making the crypto industry bigger”.
What’s more, Binance has recently undergone a $200 million investment into the world-famous publisher, Forbes. As a result, the exchange is now one of the two largest shareholders of Forbes.
“Crypto exchange Binance is planning an acquisition spree that will target companies operating in traditional markets” Financial Times.
“We want to identify and invest in one or two targets in every economic sector and try to bring them into crypto,” Changpeng Zhao, Binance CEO, elaborated during an interview with the Financial Times.
“The strategy is about making the crypto industry bigger,”
Shao’s comments coincide with the crypto exchange’s announcement that it will invest $200 million in Forbes, making it one of the largest investors in the publisher. It was just over a year ago that Binance sued Forbes.
“With Binance’s investment in Forbes, we now have the experience, network, and resources of the world’s leading crypto exchange and one of the world’s most successful blockchain innovators,” Forbes CEO Mike Ferdele stated.
Moreover, Zhao’s statement comes as Binance just clashed with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Binance and the FCA
As previously reported, the FCA announced this week that Bifinity, a member of Binance Group, was lending $36 million to Eqonex Limited, which in turn is the parent company of FCA-registered crypto asset business Digivault.
The FCA stated, “individuals and entities that are part of the Binance Group may have become beneficial owners of Digivault for the purposes of the Money Laundering Regulations,”
FCA told Decrypt it was concerned over the exchange’s apparent lack of a headquarters. In September, the regulator retaliated by saying that Binance Markets Limited could not be regulated since it failed to provide basic information to the regulator. This week, the FCA restated its worries about the Bifinity and Eqonex agreement, stating that the regulator’s reservations concerning Binance Markets Limited would continue until unresolved problems made by the FCA are addressed. “The FCA can take steps to suspend or cancel the registration of a crypto asset business if it is not satisfied the firm or its beneficial owner is fit and proper,”
