Stephanie Douse 
Binance has decided to expand its business outlook by buying companies in different sectors of the world. This comes on the heels of the regulatory scrutiny that crypto firms are going through.
Binance is aiming to diversify its business interest by purchasing companies that aren’t related to cryptocurrencies, according to a report from the Financial Times.
“We want to find one or two targets in every economic sector and try to attract them into crypto,” said Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as ‘CZ’ to his 5.3 million Twitter followers.
Already holding the title of the world’s largest crypto exchange, it is attempting to draw in enterprises from traditional marketplaces in an attempt to further enhance broad-scale crypto usage and diversify its own business.
Zhao went on to remark in the interview that encouraging traditional enterprises to embrace crypto will put pressure on the late adopters and boost overall market competition.
This announcement comes only a few weeks after Binance made a historic $200 million investment in Forbes in early February, cementing Binance’s position as one of the company’s two largest shareholders.
These moves continue to highlight the rising real-world influence of the cryptocurrency business more widely, which has seen the crypto exchange firm expand to an estimated valuation of approximately $300 billion and established Changpeng Zhao as the 11th richest man in the world.
While crypto exchanges have already slapped their brands on stadiums and stolen the show at the Super Bowl, Binance’s acquisition of such a large interest in a traditional media organization like Forbes establishes the company as a major player in acquisitions and investments.
Binance has previously dabbled with purchasing assets and companies outside of its immediate main business, having purchased crypto analytics website CoinMarketCap in April 2020 and a majority interest in card-payment services behemoth Swipe in late December 2021.
In terms of revenue diversification, acquiring traditional businesses outside of digital assets appears to be a good decision, as 90 percent of CZ’s revenue is now derived from trading fees on its exchange.
The revelation regarding Binance’s plans beyond cryptocurrencies comes as the exchange continues to be scrutinized by regulators all around the world.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority fired a warning shot three days ago, announcing a strategic partnership between Binance’s in-house card payment services Bifinity and investment firm Eqonex, in which the companies received a $36 million convertible loan to expand their products, including the currently FCA-registered Digivault.
The FCA stated that “individuals and businesses that are part of the Binance Group may have become beneficial owners of Digivault for the Money Laundering Regulations” as a result of the deal, implying that Digivault could face legal issues.
According to Bloomberg, Binance is also in talks to seek a license to operate in Dubai. This comes as the UAE continues its efforts to establish itself as a Middle Eastern “oasis” for digital assets.