Binance CEO Says Firm Is Looking Into Buying Banks and Payment Processors in Brazil

This article is adapted from CoinDesk Brasil, a partnership between CoinDesk and InfoMoney, one of Brazil's leading financial news publications. Follow CoinDesk Brasil on Twitter.

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is looking into acquiring banks and payment processors in Brazil, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said Wednesday.

Speaking at EthereumRio, an Ethereum community event held in Rio de Janeiro, Zhao also said the company is looking to strengthen its 100-person team in Brazil.

Zhao’s statements come after Binance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to acquire Brazilian securities brokerage Sim;paul Investimentos on Monday.

According to Zhao, the exchange plans to work closely with regulators and government agencies to find ways of fostering the development of the crypto industry “in a healthy and collaborative way.”

On his visit to Brazil, Zhao met with regulators and politicians, including the governor of the Brazilian state of São Paulo, João Dória, on Monday.

Pending legislation in Brazil would require crypto exchanges to be properly licensed, which would require either opening a local office or acquiring an existing operator.

Last week, Zhao said that Binance plans to buy more companies in non-crypto industries as a way of expanding the appeal of digital assets.

Read more: Forbes Receives $200M From Binance as It Eyes NYSE Listing

This article was translated by Andrés Engler and edited by CoinDesk. The original Portuguese can be found here.