Binance CEO Dodges Shutdown Concerns

Binance has declined to comment on a media report that its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, nearly shut down the crypto trading platform’s U.S. branch to safeguard the global company.

The tech media outlet reported, citing anonymous sources, that the board of Binance’s U.S. subsidiary, Binance.US, initiated a motion to liquidate the company.

However, they were unable to reach a consensus, as Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder opposed it.

Initial report about the Binance CEO attempting to shut down the U.S. arm of the exchange. Source: The Information

According to the report, Shroder feared that a sudden shutdown of the U.S.-based exchange would be detrimental to its users, who would be forced to move or liquidate their assets swiftly.

U.S. regulators have targeted Binance and Zhao over the past few months. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission of the United States filed a lawsuit against Binance and Zhao on March 27 for alleged trading violations.

On June 5, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against the exchange, its U.S. subsidiary, and Zhao, alleging that Binance “enriched themselves” while placing investors at risk.

Despite regulatory obstacles and risks, Binance continues to expand its business in multiple regions of the world. Binance announced the launch of Binance Japan on August 1, offering spot trading for 34 tokens.

To comply with the country’s regulatory framework, the exchange intends to migrate its global users residing in Japan to its local version on August 14.

During a Twitter (recently rebranded to X) ask-me-anything session on July 31, Zhao stated that stablecoin diversification is necessary due to regulatory and transparency risks.

The CEO emphasized that he is wary of stablecoins such as Tether, the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, and acknowledged that even Binance USD carries unanticipated risks.