The largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has no immediate plans to perform an initial public offering (IPO), according to CEO Zhao Changpeng.
Talent in Traditional Finance Much Needed
Zhao Changpeng, CEO of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, tweeted September 7th that the company has no plans to go public.
https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1037978683045101568
However, he also reiterated on the fact that top talent with skills and experience in “traditional finance, internet … any industry and anywhere in the world” is very much needed.
His statement goes in line with the company’s recent move as Binance hired Wall Street veteran Wei Zhou as its new Chief Financial Officer.
Others in the Field Are Going Public
Unlike Binance, however, other prominent companies in the cryptocurrency field have already gone or have expressed intentions to go public.
Mining giant Bitmain is reportedly going public on a valuation of $14 billion, according to unconfirmed reports from July. Another Chinese mining giant, Canaan Creative, officially filed for an IPO in Hong Kong back in May.
Most recently, though, a direct competitor of Binance – the zero-fee stock trading application and cryptocurrency exchange known as Robinhood – is officially starting its preparations to go public.
This became clear at the TechCrunch Disrupt Conference at San Francisco where the company’s CEO, Baiju Bhatt, revealed that they’ve started the headhunt for a chief financial officer. He also noted that the cryptocurrency exchange is going through constant audits from authorities such as FINRA and the SEC to ensure everything is set up properly.
Robinhood has managed to raise a total of $539 million to date, and some of the investors include prestigious names such as Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, Google’s Capital G, and others alike.
What do you think of Binance’s position to stay away from an IPO? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Twitter/@cz_binance.