Binance’s affiliate United States-based cryptocurrency exchange, Binance.US, is targeting an initial public offering (IPO) in 2024, according to Binance CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao.
Binance.US is planning to close a large private funding round in the next two months that would allow the firm to become more independent from the global exchange, Zhao said on Wednesday in an interview with tech publication The Information.
Zhao is confident that the global crypto exchange will survive the ongoing regulatory crackdown by global regulators, and that Binance.US will move toward a public listing in three years. “Binance.US is just going to do what Coinbase did,” Zhao stated. He said that Binance generated $800 million–$1 billion in profit last year.
The news comes amid more global regulators raising concerns about Binance’s operations, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) adding Binance’s website to its investor alert list on Wednesday. The list provides a record of unregulated persons who “may have been wrongly perceived as being licensed or regulated by MAS.”
According to local reports, Binance Asia Services (BAS), the Singapore-based unit of Binance, operates as a separate entity and does not offer any services via Binance’s website, running a different platform, Binance.sg, instead. In June, the MAS said it was planning to review BAS’ application for a license under the Payment Services (PS) Act. Binance previously applied to operate in Singapore under the act in February 2020.
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A spokesperson for the MAS told Cointelegraph that the regulator blacklisted Binance's website as the firm did not apply for a license under the PS Act. "Binance is required to cease providing payment services which are regulated under the PS Act to Singapore residents and cease soliciting such business from Singapore residents," the representative noted.
In the meantime, BAS’ license application remains under review, subject to it demonstrating that it is able to meet requirements under the PS Act, the MAS spokesperson added.
As previously reported, Binance has been under increased scrutiny from global regulators in recent months, with warnings being issued by authorities in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, Thailand and others. The exchange has stressed its commitment to cooperating with regulators multiple times.