Binance, the second largest cryptocurrency exchange, made their first acquisition, buying Trust Wallet.
Binance is one busy cryptocurrency exchange. It currently sits at the number two position on the exchange listing, with OKEx narrowly beating it. Binance had a total 24-hour transaction volume of $1,299,622,913 to OKEx’s $1,456,957,825. Now the crypto exchange has made its first acquisition as it announced it had purchased Trust Wallet.
Giving Customers More Control
Trust Wallet is a decentralized application browser and wallet provider that allows users to store a dizzying array of Ethereum-based coins. In fact, it can hold more than 20,000 different tokens altogether. Even better is that it does not collect a lot of user data, a feature that crypto enthusiasts likely enjoy.
The cryptocurrency exchange bought Trust Wallet to give their customers greater control over their portfolio of virtual currencies. Zhao Changpeng, Binance CEO, said:
The users control 100 percent of their funds. Now we have both a decentralized and centralized solution for custody.
Of the acquisition, the exchange also noted:
The company has built a reputation for security and has held itself to the guiding principles that it will never access user wallets, hold private keys, and ask for personal information. The Trust Wallet brand and team will retain the autonomy and freedom to develop the core product while benefiting from the increased synergy from Binance.
Financial details of the purchase were not released. What is interesting is that this won’t be the only item on Binance’s shopping list as the exchange says that it is in talks with other companies it’s interested in buying.
A Busy Year
2018 has been a pretty hectic year for the exchange. Back in March, the company announced plans to relocate to Malta, a country that is fast becoming a cryptocurrency and blockchain hub.
In June, the exchange expanded by launching the first fiat-crypto exchange in Uganda. This was a tremendous move as it opened up opportunities in a country where access to finance is very limited.
Just two weeks ago, Binance held another of its quarterly token burns. A total of 2,528,767 BNB (worth about $30 million) was burned off, dropping the circulating supply of BNB down to 144,443,301 tokens.
Overall, Binance is having a banner year, and it definitely has money to buy more than Trust Wallet. The exchange expects to generate at least a billion dollars in revenue by year’s end.
Do you think the purchase of Trust Wallet is a good decision? Let us know in the comments below.
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