Binance may establish global headquarters in Ireland

The debate over which country the Binance exchange intends to establish its global headquarters in is nearing its end. The chosen location must be Ireland, according to the portal The Irish Independent.

This information came from the CEO of Binance, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who gave an interview to Irish Independent. Zhao explained the reason for the exchange’s change in posture and the possibilities of a fixed headquarters on the Emerald Isle.

CZ: “We need a global headquarters”

In the interview echoed by the portal, CZ admitted that Binance would need a global headquarters. The measure is part of a change in posture by Binance, which has always valued freedom. The exchange does not have physical headquarters in the countries where it operates.

However, the current scenario forced the company to change its posture in the market. In this regard, Zhao highlighted that the headquarters could be a single or multiple regional offices divided among several countries.

“When we started, we wanted to embrace decentralized principles, no headquarters, work around the world, no borders. It’s very clear now that to run a centralized exchange, you need a centralized, legal entity structure behind it,” said Zhao.

CZ was then asked whether Ireland would receive a Binance headquarters. Zhao replied “yes” but did not provide further details. The CEO also did not clarify whether Ireland will receive a global or regional headquarters – the country is a member of the European Union.

Regulatory pressures and the choice of Ireland

Binance’s change in strategy was driven by increased regulatory pressure in countries where the exchange currently exists. Since the beginning of 2021, the exchange has seen its performance being progressively barred by governments and regulatory bodies.

The first warning came in August, through European Union regulators. Binance then said it would phase out its futures and derivatives products across the block. Additionally, the platform canceled access to these products in other European countries.

A month later, in September, Binance was fined by the Monetary Authority of Singapore not to provide services to city-state residents. Soon after, Binance definitively blocked access to its platform to residents of Singapore.

Choosing Ireland would not come as a surprise, as the country is home to three other divisions of the company: Binance (APAC) Holdings, Binance (Services) Holdings and Binance Technologies. The three were installed in the country on September 27th.

If it does establish its headquarters in Ireland, Binance could re-establish access to its operations in the European Union. And as the data show, demand is not lacking. Trading volumes on Binance soared between July and September, suggesting that the recent crackdown by regulators across the world has had little impact on the platform’s business