Tag: changpeng zhao

Binance Crypto Exchange Founder Changpeng Zhao Sentenced to 4 Months in Prison

Changpeng Zhao, the former chief executive of Binance, was sentenced on Tuesday to four months in prison after pleading guilty to violating US laws against money laundering at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Once considered the most powerful crypto industry figure, Zhao, known as “CZ,” is the second major crypto boss to be sentenced to prison.

The sentence imposed by US District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle was significantly shorter than the three years sought by prosecutors, and below the maximum 1-1/2 years recommended under federal guidelines.

It was also much lighter than the 25 years behind bars that Sam Bankman-Fried received in March for stealing $8 billion (roughly Rs. 66,788 crore) from customers of his now-bankrupt FTX exchange. Bankman-Fried is appealing his conviction and sentence.

Still, prosecutors cheered the outcome of what had been a years-long investigation into Binance and Zhao, a billionaire who had been living beyond US reach in the United Arab Emirates.

“This was an epic day,” US Attorney Tessa Gorman told reporters outside the courthouse. “Incarceration was critical in this case and we’re pleased with the result.”

Before handing down the sentence, Jones faulted Zhao for making Binance’s growth and profitability a higher priority than complying with US laws.

“You had the wherewithal, the finance capabilities, and the people power to make sure that every single regulation had to be complied with, and so you failed at that opportunity,” he said.

Zhao, 47, did not visibly react upon hearing his sentence.

He wore a navy blue suit and tie in the courtroom, with his mother and several other family members in attendance. Defense lawyers had requested probation.

“‘Crime pays’ is the message sent today,” Dennis Kelleher, head of the financial reform advocacy group Better Markets, wrote in an email, noting Zhao will still get to keep his vast wealth.

‘I’m sorry’

Prosecutors said Binance employed a “Wild West” model that welcomed criminals, and did not report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions with designated terrorist groups including Hamas, al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

They also said Zhao’s exchange supported the sale of child sexual abuse materials and received a large portion of ransomware proceeds.

Binance agreed to a $4.32 billion (roughly Rs. 36,065 crore) penalty, and Zhao paid a $50 million (roughly Rs. 417 crore) criminal fine plus $50 million to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

“I’m sorry,” Zhao told the judge before being sentenced.

“I believe the first step of taking responsibility is to fully recognize the mistakes. Here I failed to implement an adequate anti-money laundering program … I realize now the seriousness of that mistake.”

Much of Binance’s misconduct, including its weak money laundering controls, was first reported by Reuters.

Zhao will surrender voluntarily to serve his sentence, most likely at a detention center near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

“Not prioritizing compliance is a few shades below criminal intent. It’s bad, but it’s below the usual requirement of specific intent” that would justify a years-long sentence, said Robert Frenchman, a lawyer specializing in white-collar crime.

But given the scale of Binance’s violations and the massive fines imposed, he should not have expected probation or home detention, Frenchman added.

Not a monster

Prosecutors had told the judge a tough sentence would send a clear signal to other would-be criminals.

“We are not suggesting that Mr. Zhao is Sam Bankman-Fried or that he is a monster,” prosecutor Kevin Mosley said.

But Zhao’s conduct, he said, “wasn’t a mistake. This wasn’t a regulatory ‘oops.'”

Zhao stepped down as Binance’s chief in November, when he and the exchange he founded in 2017 admitted to evading money-laundering requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act.

In seeking probation, defense lawyers said others who admitted to similar wrongdoing, including BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes, were not locked up.

Zhao “wanted to make a difference in the world,” but made mistakes, defense lawyer Mark Bartlett said.

Jones said the three-year sentence requested by prosecutors was inappropriate because they did not show that Zhao knew in advance about illegal activity.

“It’s always the case the government asks for more than they think they’ll get,” said Frenchman. “Going that much above guidelines for a pleader is unusually aggressive.”

Several other crypto moguls are also in the crosshairs of US authorities after the collapse of crypto prices in 2022 exposed fraud and misconduct across the industry.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

US Seeks 3 Years Prison for Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao

US prosecutors want Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former chief executive of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, to serve three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to violating laws against money laundering.

Prosecutors made the request in a Tuesday night filing in Seattle federal court.

They said sentencing Zhao to twice the maximum 18 months recommended under federal guidelines would reflect the magnitude of his willful violations, and send a message that “the right choice, every time, is to comply with the law.”

Lawyers for Zhao requested probation. US District Judge Richard Jones is expected to sentence Zhao on April 30.

Once the most powerful figure in the crypto industry, Zhao, 47, stepped down as Binance’s chief last November, when he and the exchange admitted to evading anti-money laundering requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act.

Binance agreed to a $4.32 billion criminal penalty.

Prosecutors said Binance, employing a “Wild West” model that welcomed criminals, did not report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions with designated terrorist groups including Hamas, al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

They also said Zhao’s platform also supported the sale of child sexual abuse materials and was a recipient of a large portion of ransomware proceeds.

“He made a business decision that violating U.S. law was the best way to attract users, build his company, and line his pockets,” prosecutors said.

In seeking leniency, Zhao’s lawyers cited the first-time offender’s “unflinching” acceptance of responsibility, his $50 million criminal fine, and that no defendant in a remotely similar case has been imprisoned.

They also said Zhao made Binance an industry leader on compliance, “despite the initial failures that led to this prosecution.” Zhao founded Binance in 2017.

He has been free on a $175 million bond, and agreed not to appeal any sentence within federal guidelines.

Binance’s penalty included a $1.81 billion criminal fine and $2.51 billion of restitution. Zhao also paid $50 million to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, his lawyers said.

The case is U.S. v. Zhao, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, No. 23-cr-00179.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Binance CEO Richard Teng Summoned in Nigeria Over Money Laundering Suspicions: Report

Binance’s new CEO, Richard Teng, joined the company in November 2023 after its founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in the US for violating money laundering laws. As the waters were seeming to settle around Binance’s internal turmoil, it’s new CEO also may have found himself in a similar situation. Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes has reportedly summoned Teng on suspicions of the exchange’s potential involvement in money laundering and terror financing.

With the crypto culture expanding rapidly around South Africa, governments are tightening their vigilance around crypto-related activities. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in this case, has alerted the Nigerian authorities about Binance, alleging that the platform may have played a role in suspicious fund transfers.

Ginger Onwusibe, the chairperson of the financial crimes committee, has asked Binance officials including Teng to present themselves before the Nigerian authorities, a report by local Nigerian publication, Punch said over the weekend. As per the report, Binance was given a seven-day ultimatum to meet with the Nigerian authorities by Monday, March 4. No details of Teng’s meeting with the Nigerian authorities have, however, been reported so far.

Onwusibe, in the summon to Binance, has also reportedly warned the exchange that it could take appropriate measures to tackle with the suspicions if representatives of the firm fail to schedule a meeting. The CBN has red-flagged Binance’s crypto exchange platform for being misused for money laundering and other unlawful activities.

“It is also our duty to do everything in our power to protect Nigerian investors from predatory firms, and no distraction and manipulation can stop us. The allegations of terrorism financing, money laundering and tax evasion amongst others levelled against Binance are damning enough,” Punch quoted Onwusibe as saying.

Nigeria is taking steps to prevent financial crimes in the nation especially now that its economy is undergoing a recession-like climate. The country is getting stricter in terms of dealing with foreign companies. Calling Binance out, Onwusibe has disclosed that the company has neither registered its business in Nigeria nor has it established an office to address user grievances.

“You cannot run a company with over 10 million Nigerians on your platform without paying tax and having a physical office where Nigerians can lodge their complaints when they experience any challenge with your service,” Onwusibe has been quoted as saying.

This is not the first time, that Binance has found itself under legal scanner. In November 30, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Philippines had decided to block access to the world’s largest crypto exchange. At the time, Philippines had claimed that Binance had not registered its operations with the authorities.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

For details of the latest launches and news from Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, Oppo and other companies at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, visit our MWC 2024 hub.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

New Binance CEO Richard Teng Ensures Users on Asset Safety Post Zhao’s Exit

Binance, touted as the world’s largest crypto exchange, is undergoing a turmoil post the exit of its founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao last week. Richard Teng, the former global head of regional markets at Binance has been designated as the company’s new CEO. In an address to the Binance community, Teng published an official blog ensuring users that their assets are safe and protected in the backdrop of internal changes at the company, that is headquartered in the US.

“Our capital structure is debt-free, our expenses are modest, and, despite the low transaction fees we charge our users, we have robust revenues and profits. From our proof-of-reserves system to our Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) emergency fund, we are committed to ensuring you feel secure in the integrity of our platform,” Teng wrote in his first blog post as the CEO of Binance.

On November 21, Zhao announced that he was exiting the company. This exit however, was not aimed at propelling the crypto mogul into another project.

Zhao, as per the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), violated the country’s anti-money laundering laws. This reportedly led the firm and Zhao to conceal over 100,000 suspicious transactions with organisations like Hamas, al Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, all of which are categorised as terrorist groups by the US.

Before stepping down as the CEO, Zhao named Teng as his successor. Teng, since then, has been defending Binance’s financial status on X, claiming that the company has robust revenues and profits despite low fee charges.

“Over the course of the past two years, Binance has systematically worked to address its past compliance issues through a series of significant efforts to recruit, hire, and retain the right personnel to strengthen Binance’s compliance program and culture. I understand the unique challenges and opportunities that our industry presents, and I am dedicated to steering us through crypto winters and summers alike,” Teng’s blog noted.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Indian IT MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar Reacts to Binance and Changpeng Zhao Debacle

Rajeev Chandrasekhar has reacted strongly to Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao’s admission to having violated US’ anti-money laundering laws. Chandrasekhar, who is the Union Minister of State for electronics and technology, has warned crypto firms against misusing technology to flout laws and accomplish illegal activities. The warning comes in the backdrop of India still awaiting the execution timeline for the crypto roadmap that has been agreed upon to be adopted by all G20 member nations.

In the early hours of Tuesday, November 21, Zhao announced that he was stepping down from his role at the crypto exchange, touted as the biggest in the world. As per the SEC, Binance broke US’ anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. This led the firm ad Zhao to hide over 100,000 suspicious transactions with organisations like Hamas, al Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, all of which are recognised as terrorist groups.

Reacting to the development, Chandrasekhar said that the Indian government’s gradual approach towards inviting the crypto sector in, has kept India’s investor community safeguarded against market meltdown events like the collapse of FTX last year that had wiped out over $200 billion (roughly Rs. 16,66,428 crore) from the crypto market.

“Using new technology to break the law does not make you a disrupter. It makes you a criminal,” he added.

Emerging among the heftiest corporate penalties in the US history, Zhao has agreed to a $4.3 billion (roughly Rs. 35,828 crore) settlement deal in a Seattle court including a personal payout of $50 million (roughly Rs. 416 crore) to close the matter.

In the aftermath of the Zhao debacle, most cryptocurrencies stepped into the trading rink today reeling under losses.

Binance’s own native BNB token plunged by 11 percent within hours of Zhao pleading guilty to have violated US’s anti money laundering policies.

Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company’s new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts. 
Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao Steps Down, Pleads Guilty to Settle US Illicit Finance Probe

Binance chief Changpeng Zhao stepped down and pleaded guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering laws as part of a $4.3 billion settlement resolving a years-long probe into the world’s largest crypto exchange, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

The deal, which will see Zhao personally pay $50 million, was described by prosecutors as one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history. It is another blow to the crypto industry that has been beset by investigations and comes on the heels of the recent fraud conviction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

But several legal experts said it was a good outcome for Zhao, leaving his vast wealth intact and allowing him to retain his stake in Binance, the exchange he founded in 2017.

Binance broke U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions laws and failed to report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions with organizations the U.S. described as terrorist groups including Hamas, al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, authorities said.

The exchange also never reported transactions with websites devoted to selling child sexual abuse materials and was one of the largest recipients of ransomware proceeds, they said.

“Binance made it easy for criminals to move their stolen funds and illicit proceeds on its exchanges,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Tuesday. “Binance also did more than just fail to comply with federal law. It pretended to comply.”

Some of the charges, which are both criminal and civil, relate to practices that Reuters reported first in a series of articles in 2022.

The Justice Department, which negotiated the settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Treasury Department, is seeking an 18-month prison sentence for Zhao, the maximum suggested under federal guidelines, the New York Times reported.

Binance’s former chief compliance officer Samuel Lim was charged by the CFTC, the agency said. Neither Lim nor his lawyers responded to requests for comment.

Binance will pay $1.81 billion within 15 months, and a further $2.51 billion forfeiture as part of the deal, prosecutors said.

Zhao, a billionaire, was born in China and moved to Canada at the age of 12. He pleaded guilty in a Seattle court on Tuesday afternoon.

“Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance,” Zhao said on social media after the settlement was announced. “Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself.”

While authorities have probed Zhao and Binance for years, Zhao’s exit marks a dramatic development for one of the most powerful figures in the crypto industry, and for Binance. The deal raises questions over the future of the crypto exchange, which he has tightly controlled.

Richard Teng, a longtime Binance executive, will take over at Binance, Zhao said in his post.

“These resolutions acknowledge our company’s responsibility for historical, criminal compliance violations, and allow our company to turn the page,” Binance said in a statement.

In a separate statement, Teng said that his focus would be on “reassuring users that they can remain confident in the financial strength, security and safety of the company.”

Zhao retains Binance stake

Vanderbilt University law professor Yesha Yadav said while the fine was extremely large it appeared manageable for Binance.

“This deal…looks designed to give Binance the chance to live another day, while removing CZ, a figurehead who has been so intrinsically linked to the growth of a business model,” she said.

Since Zhao appears to be retaining his stake in Binance, however, it’s possible he may still be able to exert influence on the company, Yadav added.

Zhao is worth $10.2 billion, according to Forbes.

Given the seriousness of the violations and actors involved, Zhao appears to have “come out of this looking pretty good” as the U.S. government likely had to entice him to come to the U.S., said Robert Frenchman of Mukasey Frenchman LLP.

“He still has enormous wealth,” Frenchman said. “He isn’t likely to spend too much time in a U.S. jail. He retains his ownership stake in Binance, a company that has now resolved some of its biggest legal issues.”

Prosecutors likely weighed those benefits for Zhao against the possibility that he may not have otherwise surrendered and the desire to convince Binance to agree to pay a hefty sum, said Jeffrey Cohen, an assistant professor at Boston College Law School and former federal prosecutor.

“If you can get a good number for a corporate fine and the cost is that the individual defendants take a slightly lesser penalty, the government makes that calculation,” Cohen said.

‘Potentially illegal’

Binance has been under the Justice Department’s scrutiny since at least 2018, Reuters reported last year, just one of a string of legal headaches it faces in the United States.

Federal prosecutors asked the company in December 2020 to provide internal records about its anti-money laundering efforts, along with communications involving Zhao.

The CFTC filed its civil charges against Binance in March, alleging it failed to implement an effective anti-money laundering program to detect and prevent terrorist financing.

Internally, Binance officers and employees acknowledged that the platform facilitated “potentially illegal activities,” the CFTC alleged.

In February 2019, Binance’s Lim received information on transactions by the militant Palestinian group Hamas on Binance, the CFTC wrote.

Lim, a Singaporean, “explained to a colleague that terrorists usually send ‘small sums’ as ‘large sums constitute money laundering’,” the CFTC said in its March lawsuit.

Daniel Silva, a partner at law firm Buchalter and former federal prosecutor said the allegations likely could have supported charges against Zhao carrying stiffer penalties like fraud or money laundering.

“He was at risk of much more serious charges, and so this resolution is a very favorable one for him,” Silva said.

Even so, a guilty plea involving the CEO of a company is rare and underscores the Justice Department’s push under Democratic leadership for charges against executives.

“The government is beating a drum on the issue of individual accountability,” said Kit Addleman, a partner with Haynes Boone law firm in Dallas.

She noted the size of the fines make clear the U.S. government wants to rein in the crypto sector, describing the financial size of the deal as “staggering”.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Binance to Set Up Regional Office in Kazakhstan, Intends to Co-Develop Crypto Laws

Binance crypto exchange has signed an agreement with the government of Kazakhstan intending at fostering the crypto and Web3 culture. Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency is looking to have Binance provide insights on framing laws around the crypto sector. Both the entities plan to target illicit activities around the virtual digital assets (VDAs) sector. As per The Block, Kazakhstan will house Binance’s regional headquarters and work on co-creating crypto regulations in the region.

Binance has been taking efforts to expand its crypto literacy and training programme among law-enforcement officers around the world. Its hub in Kazakhstan will usher this effort in the region, which houses a big number of crypto miners.

Under the ‘Global Law Enforcement Training Programme’, Binance will connect police officers in different parts of the world to skilled Web3 professionals who would run trainings on ways to combat potential crypto crimes as well as ways to tackle the aftermath.

Binance, which aims to become the most licenced crypto exchange in the world, entered the Kazakhstan market just two months ago, in August.

The company was granted the relevant licences by the Astana Financial Services Authority.

Back in May, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao had met Kazakhstan president Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev.

At the time, the exchange giant had also entered an agreement with the Ministry of Digital Development of Kazakhstan to bolster Web3 boom.

Meanwhile, Zhao has shared his excitement on the development with his seven million Twitter followers.

Binance is also coordinating with Nigeria to establish a special economic zone, powered by the crypto sector. This crypto hub in Nigeria will make for the only such entity to exist in all of West Africa. This initiative is also being supported by the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA).

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Binance CEO Hits Out at ‘Chinese Company’ Label and His Connections to the Country

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao aka CZ has hit back at critics who claim that the platform is “Chinese.” In a blog post, the company chief specifies that the executive team is now dominated primarily by Europeans and Americans, while the broader workforce is more globally dispersed. CZ added, “The inference is that because we have ethnically Chinese employees, and perhaps because I am ethnically Chinese, we are secretly in the pocket of the Chinese government.” CZ wrote that the company has no legal entities in China, nor does it intend to in future.

“We are an easy target for special interests, media, and even policymakers that hate our industry,” the CEO alleged.

Binance has a history of being pulled up by regulators globally as the largest exchange by volume. Recently, the exchange was asked to produce information pertaining to money laundering checks and conversations between significant individuals within the company, including Zhao, by federal prosecutors working for the US Justice Department.

Addressing some of the theories around Binance, CZ also hinted at an “old campaign” to tarnish the brand allegedly launched by competitors through an anonymous microsite.

Looking back at his childhood, CZ said, “The irony that I was once again forced to leave China – approximately 30 years after my parents fled with my sister and I – was not lost on me.”

The “Chinese-Canadian CEO” noted, “Simply being of Chinese descent or having emigrated from China should not be a scarlet letter one has to wear for the rest of their life. Nor should it give people free rein to cast aspersions, lay false claims, or question one’s loyalty to their country.”

Zhao only returned to China from Canada in 2005, when the “web tech industry started to explode” in the country. He also revealed that since the Chinese government “helped bolster the fledgling industry” behind the schemes, many other companies were first registered in China with the “best Web3-curious engineers and investors flocking to Shanghai and Hong Kong.”

He argued that even FTX and Crypto.com were set up in Hong Kong during this time.

However, “Binance was never incorporated in China. Nor do we operate like a Chinese company culturally. We have subsidiaries in many countries, including France, Spain, Italy, UAE, and Bahrain (to name a few). But we don’t have any legal entities in China, and we do not have plans to,” CZ explained.

He also addressed conspiracy theories around Guangying Chen owning Binance. He said, “Because her name is listed on the early Bijie Tech documents, Binance’s detractors have leaped at the opportunity to spread a conspiracy theory that Guangying was secretly the owner of Bijie Tech and possibly even Binance.”

That said, CZ made it clear to the “opposition in the West” that it cannot be portrayed a “Chinese company” and neither can Chen be tagged as the proprietor of Binance or some covert agent of the Chinese government.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Zhao’s Denial, Users’ Distrust: Here’s What We Know About WazirX-Binance Debacle So Far

The crypto community of India finds itself perplexed in the backdrop of an ongoing heated Twitter feud between WazirX co-founder Nischal Shetty and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. WazirX, a known name among Indian crypto exchanges, is undergoing a probe from India’s financial watchdog, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), over alleged predatory lending practices. As per the investigating authorities, a bunch of Chinese firms in the loan lending business, that were banned from operating in India, were using WazirX to wire their funds internationally via cryptocurrencies.

On August 3, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha that the ED was probing alleged money laundering of Rs 2,790 crore through WazirX.

After ED accused WazirX of laundering illegal funds using cryptocurrencies, company co-founder Shetty allegedly said that his exchange only has an IP and preferential agreement with Binance because the US-based global exchange had acquired WazirX.

As per Chaudhary, “…investigation done so far has revealed that WazirX, operated by Zanmai Labs Private Limited in India was using the walled infrastructure of Cayman Island based exchange Binance. Further it has been found that all crypto transactions between these two exchanges were not even being recorded on the blockchains and were thus cloaked in mystery.”

The CEO of Binance, who is aiming to bag operational licences around the world, was quick to withdraw its association with WazirX, that is currently caught in a whirlwind of legal troubles in India.

As per Zhao, the transaction of acquiring Wazirx “was never completed”. Binance had however, in a November 2019 blog claimed that it had acquired WazirX.

Zhao has claimed that Binance only provides crypto wallet services for WazirX.

While the WazirX team has promised complete cooperation with ED’s investigation, it still has thousands of its users to give legitimate justifications to.

Members from India’s crypto community have called the unfolding of this debacle ‘shocking’.

For now, Rs. 64.47 crore in the accounts of WazirX have been frozen by the ED.

The plans of the future course of this investigation remains awaited.

Founded in 2017, WazirX works under the umbrella of a four-years-old Indian non-government firm called Zanmai Lab Pvt. Ltd. The crypto exchange claims to have over six million registered users.

Binance, on the other hand, is an internationally established brand in the crypto sector with operational licenses in parts of the UAE, Europe, and the US.

Back in July, Ken Li, the investment director at Binance Labs had told Gadgets 360 in an interview that the company was actively monitoring the Indian market to grab lucrative business opportunities.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Binance Has Named Co-Founder Yi He as the New Head of VC Arm Binance Labs

Binance has announced that co-founder Yi He will take over as head of its venture capital investing and incubator arm, Binance Labs. The operation has invested in over 200 projects in the blockchain space, and Binance says it manages assets totaling $7.5 billion (roughly Rs. 59,374 crore), making it one of the largest VC players in the industry. Yi said her vision is to drive future adoption of blockchain technology in Web 3 projects by “building the standard for the blockchain industry.”

The current bear market is the best time to invest in new projects, Yi said, and she intends to double Binance Labs’ personnel to 40 people. Fellow Binance co-founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao said current conditions present “an unparalleled opportunity to identify those projects with the tenacity to thrive in tough conditions.”

Yi echoed those comments by saying, “Part of the journey of seeing Binance grow, especially through tough market conditions, has been the ability to identify those founders that have the skills and embody the values needed to thrive in an environment where resources are more limited.”

Yi, a former TV anchor, has kept a low profile as Binance’s co-founder, only recently granting what City AM billed as her first English-language interview. She downplayed her ambitions then, saying Zhao was the better figurehead for the company. But her new role will raise her profile in the venture capital and crypto worlds.

The appointment comes after Bill Qian, the former head of Binance Labs, resigned in June 2022. Qian was the second top-tier executive to resign from Binance in the last two months. Nicole Zhang, executive director of Binance Labs quit in May 2022. Both Qian and Zhang had joined Binance in March 2020.

Binance Labs has incubated some of the industry’s most successful projects, including Polygon, FTX, Certik, Nym, and Dune Analytics. According to a company statement, the VC firm has had a 2100 percent rate of return since its inception.

The VC firm recently closed a $500 million (roughly Rs. 3,875 crore) investment fund that includes participation from global institutional investors such as DST Global Partners and Breyer Capital.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Exit mobile version