By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 19th, 2024
Binance CEO said that his company aims to remain a pure Web 3 company and would not just take bets for the sake of it. Binance is also eyeing some potential acquisitions in this bear market.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) offered a hint into what could be the future plans of the company. Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance is currently the world’s largest exchange by trading volumes. CZ further said that his company isn’t interested in offering stock trading on the platform and that Binance will stay a Web 3 company without any exceptions.
Binance to Remain Web 3 Firm
Some of the crypto exchanges have mulled the idea of offering both stock and crypto trading. They see it as a natural blend between the traditional and the crypto world. Earlier in May 2022, FTX US allowed accounts funded with stablecoins to trade stocks.
However, Binance isn’t willing to enter this arena. CZ added that swapping equities won’t align with his company’s philosophy. This is regardless of how many users it would attract. Referencing the move by FTX, Binance told Decrypt:
“Some exchanges want to go back to stock trading. We don’t have any plans on doing stock trading. We’re not running a fiscal broker store anytime soon. We are a pure Web3 company. We’re not going back, we’re moving forward.”
Navigating through the Bear Market
Crypto exchanges have been facing the heat of the intense bear market this year. There have been major liquidity challenges as the global macro environment looks fragile. Crypto exchanges like Coinbase have already announced that they will pause hiring and even plan to cut staff.
On the other hand, strong players like Binance and FTX see this bear market as a new opportunity. Binance’s CEO said that they are eying some key acquisitions during this bear market. But he assured that none of his deals would revolve around the exchange of traditional equities. The Binance CEO further stated that the potential deals would be simple instead of complicated loan structures or bailouts.
CZ also noted that the deals would be “simple” instead of complicated loan structures or bailouts. He added:
“That is not to say that complex deals are bad. But my preference is always keep everything very simple, very straightforward, boil everything down to very basic core principles, and go from there.”
Commenting on the %500-million credit line extended by FTX to crypto lender Voyager Digital, CZ said he “would never do that type of deal”.
This shows that Binance will be picky about its acquisition market and would not just rush to flush money in the market.