Binance has no office in Beijing, claims CEO

Binance, one of the world’s largest and most popular crypto exchanges, has had a very successful 2019. The exchange launched several offshore subsidiaries, it brought back its Binance Launchpad, and it even launched its own blockchain, among other projects. However, while the exchange has made many successful moves, opening an office in Beijing is not one of them, according to its CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ).

Binance is not planning to go back

Copy link to section In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Binance’s CEO decided to address the rumors of Binance opening an office in Beijing, claiming that the rumors were false. Despite the fact that Chine seems to be warming up to both blockchain and crypto, the Malta-based exchange did not make a move to open an office there.

CZ just wrapped up with us. On China strategy after Xi's remarks, he said they will focus on R&D, and "help where we can." he denied Binance has a BJ office, despite that CoinDesk reported otherwise:https://t.co/Hpb17MZn4y https://t.co/sTz8zt4Y4N

— Zheping Huang (@pingroma) November 15, 2019

CZ did say that Binance has plans for China, but he elaborated by saying that the plans involve focusing on research and development in order to help whoever they can. Binance would also do everything it can to promote blockchain technology in China.

China warming up to crypto is not enough to bring Binance back

Copy link to section Rumors of Binance opening an office in China were reported only a few weeks ago around October 31st. The rumors were allegedly supported by two anonymous sources, although Binance CEO’s recent statement appears to firmly deny them. Binance also made headlines prior to the publication of rumors, after launching P2P trading against China’s yuan in early October. Many saw this as a sign that Binance might be planning to return home, despite the fact that the exchange never even hinted at this being a possibility. Furthermore, while Chinese President, Xi Jinping, did recently publicly praise blockchain technology, the crypto situation in China has yet to be resolved. The country has taken some steps that indicate that it might be changing its mind about crypto, such as the removal of Bitcoin mining from the list of activities that should be banned. However, the ban on crypto trading within the country still stands, and Binance would have a hard time operating in China unless this ban ends up being lifted completely.