By George Ward
The world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, has denied a report credited to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that about 20% of its trading volume comes from China. The popular crypto trading platform revealed that it does not operate in mainland China as its website is authorized to operate in that region.
The $90B Chinese Trading Volume
According to a recent WSJ update, China remains Binance’s largest market, contributing an impressive trading volume of more than $90 billion in spot and futures trading during May. Meanwhile, data from an internal Binance platform, “Mission Control,” revealed that futures trading accounted for a sizable portion of the company’s volume.
In addition, the report claimed that Binance has collaborative efforts with Chinese authorities to detect and resolve potential illegal activities among its vast user base in the country.
The report further claimed that Binance maintains a diligent approach to addressing any issues related to regulatory compliance and user security and has over 900,000 active accounts in China alone. Also, WSJ stated that Binance has 5.6 million registered users in mainland China as of May 2023.
Aside from China, the WSJ report mentioned that Binance amasses significant trading volumes from other jurisdictions. The exchange recorded considerable trading activity in the British Virgin Islands, South Korea, Turkey, and Vietnam, per the report.
The WSJ further alleges that Binance assists its Chinese users to sidestep regulatory restrictions based on exclusive findings from internal documents. According to the report, users in mainland China were directed to specific websites with Chinese domain names, which then redirected them to the global exchange platform, effectively circumventing the imposed restrictions.
Additionally, the report revealed that Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, supported a program that offered Palau residency cards to foreigners, which helps its Chinese users. However, the crypto exchange later withdrew from the project.
Binance Responds To Allegations
After weeks of increasing speculation about having huge trading volumes from China, Binance recently issued an official statement. The exchange denied the allegations, stating that it has no connections or operations within the Asian country following the ban on crypto activities there.
Binance added that it does not conduct business in China or keep any technological infrastructure or servers within the country. Furthermore, the exchange argued that it had never been officially registered or incorporated in China, even before the blanket ban on cryptocurrency activities.
Moreover, CZ has repeatedly stated that the exchange has no ties to China. He claims critics attempt to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) about the firm by using his country of birth and ethnicity to discredit the platform.
As the debate over Binance’s relationship with China continues, the exchange has consistently reiterated its commitment to regulatory compliance and transparent operations in the jurisdictions where it actively operates.