Cryptocurrencies: Binance CEO won't reveal exchange's location
Barry Copeland
30 / January / 24
Visitors: 131
Last month, Binance CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao was forced to resign. The entrepreneur was accused of failing to comply with US anti-money laundering authorities. After a lengthy investigation, Zhao was indicted by US courts. He no longer has the right to hold the post of head of Binance.
In his place, the founder of the exchange chose Richard Teng, an executive specializing in regulation. He joined Changpeng Zhao's empire in 2021 as CEO of the Singapore branch. The platform's new CEO has more than 30 years of experience in the financial sector, particularly in regulation. He was previously the head of the Abu Dhabi Financial Regulatory Authority.
The mystery of Binance's headquarters
Shortly after his arrival as head of Binance, Teng was interviewed at the Crypto and Digital Assets Summit conference organized in London. Responding to a Financial Times reporter's question, he steadfastly refused to reveal where the company's global headquarters is located.
"Why do you feel you have such a right to these answers? Do we have to share all this information publicly? No," Richard Teng replied.
He only mentioned the main European office, which is in Paris, and noted that the main Middle East office is in Dubai. Trying to reassure journalists, he promised that the address of the global headquarters would be disclosed "if necessary."
A thorny issue
It should hardly come as a surprise that Richard Teng is evading an answer in this matter. His predecessor always did his best to keep the address of Binance's headquarters secret. Changpeng Zhao has always assured us that the company is based on a fully decentralized model and therefore has no central headquarters. This approach has long infuriated regulators. Facing pressure from regulators, Binance eventually opened its headquarters.
"When we started, we wanted to use a decentralized system, no head office, operate anywhere in the world, no restrictions. Now it's very clear that you need a centralized legal structure to run a centralized exchange," Changpeng Zhao explained in 2021.
According to the Financial Times, the decision is designed to hide Binance's ties to China. If it turns out that the company is established on Chinese soil, it will have to legally comply with Beijing's requirements, like all companies based in China. In the past, Zhao has long denied Binance's alleged ties to China, insisting that the company was never registered in the country.
