— Ch. 1 · Founding And Global Expansion —
Binance.
~4 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Changpeng Zhao founded Binance in 2017 within the borders of China. He had previously built high-frequency trading software for stockbrokers at Fusion Systems, which he started in Shanghai in 2005. The company moved its servers and headquarters out of China just before the Chinese government banned cryptocurrency trading in September 2017. Zhao asked Yi He to join the venture, and she helped rewrite parts of the white paper for a $15 million initial coin offering. Binance subsequently left Japan for Malta after stricter regulations appeared there. The firm never established an official company headquarters and currently operates without one. In January 2018, it held the title of largest cryptocurrency exchange with a market capitalization of $1.3 billion. This position was retained as late as April 2021 despite competition from Coinbase among others. By 2024, blockchain analytics company Arkham Intelligence reported that Binance is the largest crypto-holding entity in the world with over $200 billion in digital assets.
Regulatory Battles And Fines
Binance has been the subject of lawsuits and challenges from regulatory authorities throughout its history. In June 2021, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority ordered Binance to stop all regulated activity in the United Kingdom. On the 6th of April 2023, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission cancelled the Australian financial services licence held by Oztures Trading Pty Ltd trading as Binance Australia Derivatives. Belgium's Financial Services and Markets Authority ordered Binance to cease all virtual currency services on the 23rd of June 2023. Canada imposed a $4.32 million fine on Binance in May 2024 for violating money laundering laws. The Dutch central bank announced a €3.3m fine for Binance in April 2022 due to offering services within the Netherlands without being registered. Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission deemed Binance's activities illegal in June 2023. On the 28th of December, India's Financial Intelligence Unit recommended blocking nine crypto entities including Binance. The US Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service put Binance under investigation in May 2021. On the 27th of November 2023, a US judge convicted Binance on multiple charges including violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. As part of the plea deal, the company agreed to pay $4 billion in fines.