Will Binance Offer Stock Trading To Users, CEO Replies
- The Binance CEO states that the exchange will not offer stock trading services
- The firm is working on offering Web3 tools in the near future
While several exchanges are trying their hands on stock trading offerings, Binance wants to focus solely on crypto trading services.
During a podcast with Decrypt, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of the world’s largest crypto exchange, expressed his thoughts on the matter and said that the stock trade offerings are neither right nor wrong. However, he noted that equity trading doesn’t align with his exchange’s values.
CZ drew a line between Binance and one major sizable competitor, FTX, who began offering users the ability to trade stocks with stablecoins in May. He stated:
“We don’t have any plans on doing stock trading. We just think that we’re not running a fiscal broker store anytime soon.”
While the crypto industry is experiencing a broad downturn, certain companies have started to add users with different mindsets. While many retail investment platforms, including Robinhood, have achieved success in the stock trading business, CZ said he’d rather watch Binance concentrate on developing more Web3 tools.
“We are a pure Web3 company. We’re not going back; we’re moving forward.”
added CZ.
A few weeks back, the exchange’s venture capital arm, Binance Labs, floated a $500 million Web3 investment fund that aims to support crypto startups building solutions that can boost mainstream blockchain and Web3 adoption. Moreover, it partnered with the Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo to promote its Web3 initiatives.
Binance’s CEO said that during the weak market, the company is keeping an eye on a few companies as potential prospects for acquisition, but none of those are related to the trading of conventional equities. The proposed deals, according to CZ, would probably be more “simple” than a complex loan structure or bailout.
“That is not to say that complex deals are bad. But my preference is always to keep everything very simple, very straightforward, boil everything down to very basic core principles, and go from there.”
CZ said.
Notably, CZ doesn’t seem to be a big fan of bailouts. He recently said bailouts are not necessarily bad, but if not properly watched, they can support and finance a project with poor fundamentals.
The comments by CZ are probably referring to the $500 million credit line that Alameda Research, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, also the CEO of FTX, gave to the bankrupt crypto broker Voyager Digital.
SBF acquired a 7.6% stake in Robinhood in May, and several reports claimed that he was interested in purchasing the stock and cryptocurrency trading app. However, SBF dismissed the rumors, saying there were no active M&A negotiations about Robinhood taking place.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
