- Binance US has continued to thrive despite regulatory issues, with the CEO saying that it brought in more in the fourth quarter than Uber has since it launched.
- He also revealed that it would be announcing its latest fundraising round in the coming month and that it would hold an IPO in the next couple of years.
Binance US has grabbed the headlines for many wrong reasons, from US regulators investigating its relationship with the global conglomerate to its leaders either stepping down or disappearing. However, as its current CEO revealed, the exchange has been making money, a whole lot of it. In just Q4 last year, it made more than Uber has in its entire existence, the CEO said.
Brian Schroder, the Binance US CEO, was speaking during the Binance Blockchain Week this week. He revealed that the exchange had successfully raised “a couple of hundred million dollars” from investors in its latest round, which it will be announcing in April.
Changpeng Zhao, the CEO, and founder of Binance Global, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and the parent company of the US subsidiary, had talked about the fundraising in November last year.
At the time, CZ also claimed that the exchange would raise a couple hundred million dollars in pre-IPO funding.
Read More: Binance US to raise “a couple hundred million dollars” in pre-IPO funding
The funding round would have been completed months earlier, back when Brian Brooks, a former Comptroller of the Currency was at the helm of the exchange. However, as The New York Times exposed, investors, got cold feet due to the amount of influence that CZ had on Binance US. They were concerned that they were investing in a company that could just as easily be swayed by the decision of one person.
At the time, even the exchange’s board of directors was controlled by CZ, with the other members being his subordinates at the global parent exchange.
Schroder further revealed that the exchange was seeking to be licensed in all states in the US by the end of this year. The US is known for relying on state-level regulations, with some crypto companies like BlockFi and Celsius being booted out by some state regulators for allegedly violating securities regulations.
Schroder took over the exchange after Brian Brooks stepped down in a controversial manner. The former banking regulator claimed that his departure was due to a difference in strategic outlook with the leadership. However, news reports revealed that it was because he was frustrated at the amount of control CZ wielded over the exchange and the slow pace of implementing compliance programs.
And then there is Catherine Coley, the woman who held the CEO role for two years before Brooks. Coley has been missing for close to a year now, with nobody aware of what happened to her amid speculation that her stint at Binance was linked to her disappearance.
Related: Ukraine crypto exchange founder accuses Binance of working in support of the Russian government
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