Binance CEO denies plan to delist U.S. tokens amid regulatory pressure
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, has no intention of delisting tokens from U.S. projects, according to its CEO Changpeng Zhao.
Zhao, also known as CZ, took to Twitter on Friday to refute a report by Decrypt that claimed Binance was considering such a move as part of its strategy to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
The report was based on a leaked document that allegedly outlined Binance’s plans to cut ties with U.S. crypto projects and launch its own blockchain platform.
“False,” Zhao tweeted in response to the report. He added that the document was outdated and not from Binance.
Binance has been facing regulatory pressure from several countries over its compliance and licensing issues. The exchange has received warnings or notices from authorities in the UK, Japan, Italy, Germany, Singapore, Thailand and Canada.
Binance has also faced challenges with its Binance-branded stablecoin BUSD, which is issued by Paxos. On Monday, Paxos said it would stop minting new BUSD tokens following a request from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), but denied regulators’ claims that it violated its charter.
According to Decrypt’s report1, Binance was planning to distance itself from U.S.-based crypto projects such as USD Coin (USDC), which is backed by Coinbase and Circle. The report cited an unnamed source who claimed that Binance could delist USDC and other tokens with U.S. affiliations as a precautionary measure.
However, Zhao dismissed the report as “FUD” (fear, uncertainty and doubt) and said that Binance had no such plans2. He also said that Binance had “pulled back” on some deals with U.S. partners due to regulatory uncertainty3.
Binance was founded in 2017 by Zhao, who had previously created high frequency trading software. The exchange offers trading services for more than 300 cryptocurrencies and supports over 60 million users worldwide.
Binance has not responded to requests for comment on this story.
By Sydney
