Binance Re-entering China via ‘Blockchain not Crypto’ Road
Major crypto exchange Binance seems to be well on its way to re-establishing a presence in China, but by taking the ‘blockchain, not crypto’ entrance. CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), says “education and technology” first.
Following the Chinese ban on crypto, Binance had left the country in 2017. It seems that it never gave up on returning and that it has been slowly making its way back.
Per the official records of URL registration, Binance registered their binance.cn domain name with the Chinese government, approved by the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, under the company Shanghai Bi Nai Shi Information Technology LLC. Furthermore, this company is connected by Chinese media outlet ChainNews to two other companies with similar names, one in Shanghai, the other in Shenzhen – all three being registered since February 24, under a single legal representative, He Junxi. “The Chinese names of these three companies are similar to “Binance,” comments the article.
Indeed, binance.cn, has been up for at least two months, judging by the blog posts, as the earliest ones were published in the first half of March. The site itself describes the company as “the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem developer and a leading enterprise in blockchain industry.” In comparison, binance.com’s landing page introduces the company as “The World’s Leading Cryptocurrency Exchange.”
The posts are mostly focused on the monthly reviews and updates; research reports on blockchain, CBDCs, Libra, etc.; Binance Chain; Binance Charity efforts; the Binance X Fellowship Program, among other topics. Another page offers a number of blockchain courses and education on the technology and its application, token economy, network security, wallets, etc. All in all, when it comes to their “business scope,” Binance’s site is emphasizing blockchain, as well as education on it, research, development, consulting, start-up project incubation, Blockchain Academy, etc.
Some clarity may lie in one of the March announcements on the site, also available on binance.com, stating that Binance Academy had established Lingang Blockchain Technology and Industry Research Institute in China. Indeed, Binance’s PR representative confirmed that the website is a part of this effort. “It’s an initiative by Binance Academy, the non-profit educational arm of Binance,” the spokesperson told Cryptonews.com, adding that “It’s relevant to the research institute launched in March.” They did not provide further info.
As reported, last September, Binance made its first strategic investment in China as it joined a funding round that valued crypto-data website Mars Finance at about USD 200 million.
In 2018, Chinese news outlets reported that Chinese government succeeded in containing risks arising from cryptocurrency trading in the country. The country has, however, showed major support for blockchain over the years, with a number of provinces adopting it – an effort hastened by President Xi Jinping urging the country to accelerate the development of this technology. China is also working fast on its digital yuan, with real-world tests announced already for this month.
