Binance’s global policy lead, Steven McWhirter, confirmed that discussions about re-entering the U.S. market are not happening at this time.
By Bhushan Akolkar
Updated
2 mins read
Binance US relaunch won’t happen anytime soon, confirmed Steven McWhirter, Binance’s global policy lead. He explained that it’s still too early to discuss the company’s potential return to the U.S. market.
A recent WSJ report last week stirred discussion that founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is planning to strike a deal with the Trump family to acquire a stake in Binance US, and further grant his prison pardon. However, CZ and Binance CEO Richard Teng have denied this news.
Following the SEC lawsuit in 2013, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to violating the banking laws and ended up paying $4.3 billion in penalty settlements. Since then, Binance US has ceased operations from the country, but speculations have been on the rise that it could make a comeback under the crypto-friendly administration of US President Donald Trump.
During his recent interviews, Binance executive Steven McWhirter praised the speed at which the US crypto landscape is changing in the Trump administration. Under the Trump administration, regulatory actions against major crypto players like Coinbase, Ripple, and Binance have been eased.
On the other hand, Trump has signed an executive order to build a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” while Congress is advancing legislation aimed at providing long-awaited “regulatory clarity” for stablecoins, according to industry insiders. Speaking on this development, McWhirter said:
“This is only mid-March, but the pace of acceleration and the movement is really impressive. It’s been incredibly busy. Since Trump came in, there has been a very positive change in direction, and that’s had a trickle down effect.”
However, Binance, which handles $20 billion in daily trading volume, has yet to decide on an official headquarter for itself. “No, there’s nothing,” McWhirter said. “But the business has been going through a very careful evaluation process in terms of where it will locate its HQ.”
In another recent development, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has decided to dabble with meme coins, through the recent purchase of Mubarak meme coin last week. Earlier today, crypto exchange Binance announced the listing of MUBARAK, leading to another 50% gains in its price.
Following a successful stint last year with Solana, new meme coin launches are now happening on the BNB Chain. As a result, the overall activity on Binance blockchain has been on a rise.
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Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.