By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 23rd, 2024
Binance has a staggering public potential worth of $300B due to its trading volume and transaction fees, which are larger than of its four biggest competitors.
According to former Binance executives, the crypto exchange could be worth $300 billion if it decides to go public. The unofficial mouth-watering valuation implies that the company is more than three times the value of the American crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) before its IPO. In addition, at $300 billion, Binance surpasses other notable unicorn companies. They include media powerhouse Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS), oil and gas mainstay Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM), and sports apparel giant Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE).
This feat is even more impressive because Binance would have achieved this in just under four years of existence. By extension, the company’s founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao would be one of the richest people in the world, considering he owns the largest amount of Binance shares.
The former Binance executives who made this valuation assertion in a report published by the Wall Street Journal, took a few things into account. Firstly, they considered the current trading volume of Binance, which tops $76 billion a day – currently over $30 billion in the last 24 hours. This makes Binance the biggest exchange in the world by a mile, and bigger than its four largest competitors. Coinbase’s trading volume of $6.2 billion is a distant second.
Secondly, they also considered the transaction fees that Binance charges its customer base of almost 30 million.
Regardless of Projected Worth, Binance Is Not Going Public Anytime Soon
Should Binance choose to go public, it might be unclear what country they would prefer to set up shop in. Although its holding company is registered in the Cayman Islands, the major crypto exchange currently has no formal headquarters. In addition, Binance has ties to Japan, China, Malta, and Seychelles. Although Zhao presently resides in Singapore, the exchange has staff all over the world.
However, there are reports that Binance.US, the company’s American subsidiary, could go public in 2024. Binance.US reportedly generated between $800 million and $1 billion in profit last year. As it stands, the offshoot company is focusing on generating more funds and electing new board members.
Binance Weathered Widespread Criticism Over Regulation and Company its Practices
Binance has faced a wave of increasing global scrutiny in recent times from several regulators from different countries. The company weathered skepticism and outright bans from nations like the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, and other European nations. In fact, Binance had to cease operations in many of these countries due to regulatory requirements and obligations.
Regardless, Zhao has long expressed a desire for Binance to cooperate with regulatory mandates. These include acquiring the appropriate regulatory licenses and submitting all necessary company data required by authorities. In addition, the CEO is looking to make Binance more transparent and user-friendly, even as it continues to expand. Recently the company made some changes to its customer ID verification process – as part of its Know Your Customer and Anti-money Laundering initiatives.
Zhao even suggested that he was open to ceding his position as CEO to a more experienced, technically-savvy individual for the greater good.