Binance has revealed that it intends to continue its recent spree of expansion, eventually opening “five to ten” fiat-to-crypto exchanges across five continents of the world.
In the past few months, the crypto exchange – one of the largest in the world – has opened new offices in Liechtenstein, Malta and Uganda amongst others, and according to CEO Changpeng Zhao, this looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.
Speaking to Coindesk at Consensus Singapore, Zhao revealed that over the next 12 months, the platform intends to launch between five and ten new fiat-to-crypto exchanges across the world, ideally with a distribution of two per continent.
Focus on Fiat-to-Crypto
CryptoGlobe earlier reported that Binance is in the process of opening a fiat-to-crypto exchange in Singapore, and the plan revealed by Zhao would seem to fit into that vision.
Referencing this Zhao stated that the platform, which is currently under invitation-only beta testing, could be fully operational in a matter of months. He noted though that because of the processes involved in working with banks and regulators, the process of bringing the fiat-crypto exchange online might be significantly more difficult than when dealing only with cryptocurrencies.
Explaining why Binance is getting into the fiat-crypto space in the first place even though it is known more for crypto-crypto trading, Zhao further explained that the total capitalisation of the crypto market is still many times less than traditional financial markets, making it necessary to “open the gate” to allow that money come into crypto.
According to Zhao, Binance will chase this strategy by forging partnerships with small countries like Malta in order to take advantage of their friendlier and more responsive regulatory atmosphere.
Explaining how this works he said:
You can access to the top-level government officials and they respond to your questions more directly and efficiently. … And they do appreciate the investment you are bringing into the local economy.
Market-Defying Performance
Zhao also revealed in the course of the conversation that despite the prolonged crypto market downturn of 2018, Binance has posted strong profits, exceeding the $200 million mark in the first quarter alone. Q2 2018 then saw the profit figure decline to $150 million.
In Zhao’s opinion, the phenomenal growth of Binance is down to good timing and a bit of luck, along with a healthy appetite for risk. He stated that he does not expect market volatility to significantly affect the company’s business.
Recalling that he once sold his house to invest in bitcoin just before a 66 percent price drop in 2014, Zhao said:
After that, I'm just not that worried.
