Crypto currency exchange Binance planning IPO

CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao has told The Information that the goal is to float its US arm in the next three years

World’s biggest crypto currency exchange, Binance, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) despite increasing regulatory scrutiny of the company.

CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao has told The Information that the goal is to float its US arm in the next three years. Binance.US is just going to do what Coinbase did, he told the publication.

US-based Coinbase went public in April when it listed on the Nasdaq.

The news of the planned float comes nearly a month after Brian Brooks publicly resigned as chief executive of the US arm merely four months after taking up the role.

While a Binance IPO is still some way off, Zhao did announce that the crypto currency exchange is looking to raise a large fundraising round within the next two months. The cash injection should also reduce the CEO’s control of the board.

Binance generated $800m to $1bn in profit last year, Zhao told The Information.

The news of the planned Binance IPO comes as the crypto currency exchange is increasingly coming under fire from regulators around the world.

Last week it was revealed that the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that it was “not capable” of supervising Binance. The City watchdog had made the statement in a notice on 25 June, released last week. On 26 June it issued a warning against Binance Markets Limited, a subsidiary of Binance.

In the notice, the FCA accused the company of having failed to provide sufficient information about its business operations, corporate structure and how its customers used the products.

This is of particular concern in the context of the firm’s membership of a global group which offers complex and high-risk financial products, which pose a significant risk to consumers, the regulator said in the notice.

The FCA also told the firm to remove all advertising and financial promotions. Binance Markets Limited was, following the warning, not allowed to undertake any regulated services.

Despite the regulatory setbacks, Binance has remained relatively unscathed so far. It is still able to trade in crypto currencies and while it was forced to restrict customers withdrawing British pounds sterling when it ran into trouble with its partners, it has since quietly resumed GBP withdrawals.