The largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, Binance, intends to invest heavily in local banks and payment service providers to provide more localized services in the Philippines.
Changpeng Zhao, founder, and CEO of Binance, stated at a press conference in Taguig City on Wednesday that the Philippines is very crucial for the cryptocurrency exchange.
“The Philippines is more advanced in terms of payment services, mobile penetration, smartphone adoption, tech talents and understanding of crypto. All those fronts, the Philippines is ahead,” Zhao said.
“We would love to be able to provide more localized services by going into licensing and working closely with regulators here,” he said.
Zhao stated that Binance is seeking two licenses from regulatory authorities.
“There are at least two licenses that we are interested in. There is VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) license, crypto license. There is an EMI (Electronic Money Issuer) license, which is more for traditional services,” he said.
Binance is interested in investing in traditional financial industries, including payment service providers, banks, etc., according to Zhao.
Binance eyes partnership with payment providers, local banks in PH
“We want to help bring those businesses into the blockchain world. If we can help a bank to offer crypto services, you know, in a licensed and regulated way, that makes our market bigger. We are looking at all those options. We are actively looking at all those options,” he said.
The CEO of Binance stated that he has already met with Philippine officials to discuss the company’s strategy for acquiring the required licenses.
“I do expect the progress to be quick. We don’t control the timeline, it depends on quite a number of external factors. But based on the speed of things progressing, I usually would expect within months,” he said.
Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally based on the daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies. It was created in 2017 in the Cayman Islands and is registered there.
In 2021, the United States Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service began investigating Binance on suspicion of money laundering and tax violations. In addition, the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom mandated that Binance cease all regulated businesses in the United Kingdom by June 2021.
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