The logo of Binance.US. ©Binance.US
Asian Tech Press (Aug 26) -- Binance.US, the U.S. arm of Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency trading platform, said on Wednesday that it is only a matter of time before it goes public, in response to the financing and CEO's departure.
A few days ago, some media released an article saying that Binance.US's billion-dollar financing was rejected by Japan's SoftBank and its CEO, Brian Brooks, suddenly resigned.
The company responded on Wednesday that it is an independent startup and is currently in the process of raising. There are many well-known investment institutions in communication, and it will be officially disclosed after it is fully determined. And it's only a matter of time before Binance.US goes public.
For the recent departure of former CEO Brian Brooks, Binance.US said that it is a common operation to introduce external professional managers in the development process, and will continue to introduce more professional managers to complete the team upgrade.
Binance.US, a San Francisco-based entity, was established in 2019 by Binance in partnership with BAM Trading Services Inc., a California-based crypto exchange platform, and began operations in September of that year.
Binance's U.S. arm was founded as an independent company from Binance, but Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao retains 90% ownership.
On April 11, 2021, Binance hired Brian Brooks, former Acting Comptroller of the Currency under the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as CEO of Binance.US. And Brooks is known on social media as the "Crypto Comptroller" for his friendly approach to crypto assets.
Before joining the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Brooks was chief legal officer at Coinbase and previously served as general counsel at Fannie Mae.
Brooks said his top priorities at Binance.US include making Binance a strong competitor to Coinbase and strengthening its commitment to regulatory compliance.
However, less than four months after becoming CEO of Binance.US, Brooks announced his resignation on a social media platfrom on August 6, saying that there were "differences over strategic direction".
According to a source close to Brooks, Binance recruited him in the hope that he could make a good job of compliance for Binance.US and be able to raise funds for listing in the future.
The source analyzed that Binance.US has no advantage to compete with Coinbase in the U.S. market in a real compliance way, and its advantage lies in doing some innovative business in regulatory grey areas.
It is reported that in order to compete with listed Coinbase, Binance.US launched a $100 million funding round that was originally intended to be the first step toward an initial public offering.
But regulatory concerns around Binance.US and Zhao ultimately led investors to pull out of the $100 million funding round.
The New York Times previously reported that Brooks initially enlisted support from potential investors, including Raymond J. Lane, managing partner at GreatPoint Ventures, and an executive from Japan's SoftBank, and assured that Binance.US would comply with all U.S. regulatory guidelines.
However, investors pulled out due to concerns about Zhao's 90% ownership in Binance.US and ongoing investigations by U.S. authorities into Binance's money laundering and tax issues.
The report said that there was a lack of clear distinction between the operations of Binance and Binance.US, which sparked concerns among investors.
On the same day Brooks publicly announced his resignation on Twitter, Binance.US said to the public that the company would continue to take steps to achieve its goal of completing an IPO in the United States.
