Changpeng Zhao, CEO of major cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has predicted that Binance will resume crypto-to-fiat operations in the United States within the next two months.
Navigating U.S. regulation
Zhao, also known as CZ within the crypto community, made his prediction in an interview with online news outlet Cheddar published Aug. 15. When asked about Binance’s return to operations in the U.S., Zhao said:
“I don’t want to promise any fixed dates, but there’s a lot of work being done and there’s a lot of things going on in flux, but I would say in a month or two.”
Back in June, Binance announced that the exchange would be temporarily restricting services in the U.S. as it worked to open a new division to operate with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) approval, at Cointelegraph reported at the time.
U.S. regulation has been a critical issue In today’s interview, Zhao said that the partnership with BAM Trading Services will help the firm to navigate the US’s regulatory environment, commenting that “now we have our partner, we want to take this opportunity and explore the market.”
Future of the market
In response to a question about the impact of U.S. regulatory ambiguity, Zhao said:
“I think the US is one of the most developed markets because I think it has good regulations in the traditional finance space. Crypto is a new thing, and for new things, the US is a big country and with a lot of regulatory bodies and a very large market […] in a large market it is harder to regulate.”
Zhao ultimately expressed optimism for the future of U.S. regulation, citing the country’s clear legal framework for traditional financial services as evidence that the environment for crypto will improve.
Despite Zhao’s optimism, Binance has experienced several issues with security in recent weeks. A dusting attack on Litecoin reportedly affected nearly 300,000 Binance users earlier this month. On Aug. 7, news surfaced that the exchange had fallen victim to a hack that exposed the know-your-customer data of its users.
