Binance.US Could Go Public in 3 Years, CEO Zhao Says: Report

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO of one of the world’s largest exchanges, Binance, says its U.S. affiliate is eyeing an initial public offering within three years.

• According to a report by The Information on Wednesday, Zhao said “Binance.US is just going to do what Coinbase did” by following in the footsteps of Brian Armstrong’s exchange.
• The move to go public would be a boon for the embattled Binance brand, with several countries having announced investigations into or published warnings against Binance.
• A spokesperson for Binance confirmed with CoinDesk that Zhao had revealed a projected timeline during an interview with the publication and underscored his response as being dependent on market factors.
• Asked during the interview about a clear sense of what the timing would be for Binance.US’s initial public offering, Zhao said it depended on the business’ growth.
• “So if the business can grow consistently over the next three years, then three years should be sufficient for an IPO,” he said. “If there’s a prolonged bear market for, I don’t know, maybe three or five years, then it may be a little bit longer.”
• Zhao had first brought the idea that its U.S. affiliate was eyeing an IPO during his time at the Redefine Tomorrow event in July. The timeline is highly dependent on a number of factors, including regulatory approval.
• Binance.US is also eyeing the completion of a large private funding round within the next two months that would see the exchange’s CEO reduce control of the U.S. affiliate’s board, according to the report.
• Earlier this year, the CEO said parent Binance had no plans to go public, citing comfort with its overall growth and cash reserves.

Read more: FCA Said Binance Had Complied With Its Requirements, but Was ‘Not Capable’ of Being Supervised