CZ Pushes to Make America a Global Crypto Capital as Binance Eyes US Expansion

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, announced plans to help make America a global crypto hub. CZ shared his thoughts on the United States market during a private press conference at Binance Blockchain Week, which took place at the Coca Cola Arena in Dubai Dec. 3-4.

When asked by a member of the media about his involvement in the US following President Trump’s pardon, CZ explained that he is “very appreciative of the pardon from Trump,” noting that this allows Binance to conduct business more “freely” in every part of the world – America included.

“It’s my full intention to help make America the capital of crypto,” CZ stated. “Also, America is an emerging land for Binance. For the last few years we have been dealing with the Biden administration so much that we have tried to withdraw from the US as much as possible. We didn’t invest in the US and we tried to pull out. But now I fully intend to help crypto businesses in the US.”

The United States Becomes Strategic Market For Binance

CZ added that Binance US – which was launched in September 2019 to legally service US residents – still exists, yet it remains a small business.

He explained that in 2023 the SEC sued Binance US, causing the business to lose all banking access and a few state licenses. However, CZ now views the US as “a very important market” and a leading region in terms of tech talent. However, he believes that leaders in the blockchain industry still reside outside of the United States.

“Large businesses like Binance and a few other large players are not technically in the US, so I do want to help bring many of those businesses back into the region,” he said “Also, many institutional investors do not have access or exposure to BNB, so we want to help with that.”

CZ Says US Has Clear Crypto Regulations

Cryptonews further asked CZ about challenges holding back crypto adoption globally and how Binance aims to combat this moving forward.

CZ mentioned that first and foremost regulatory frameworks have to become clarified in many parts of the world. To enable this, he explained his involvement with more than a dozen different countries on ways to develop and implement regulations.

CZ added that currently only a handful of countries have clear regulations around digital assets, yet pointed out that the US is leading the way.

“Now the US is leading – which is good, but the US is only just starting. Trump has only been in power for a year,” he stated.

CZ further remarked that progress has been made with the recent passing of the GENIUS Act, which establishes clear rules around stablecoins. He added that the CLARITY Act, which aims to define digital assets, remains a work in progress.

“Also the first draft of regulations will not be perfect – it takes time to evolve. After this, the banks will need to work closely with crypto businesses. We need to integrate with existing financial systems to enable mainstream adoption, as that’s the best way for growth,” CZ remarked.

CZ Speaks Out About Prison Time

In addition to sharing his thoughts on the importance of the US market for crypto expansion, CZ described his time in prison. The executive was sentenced to four months in a US prison in April 2024 after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws.

“I went through a lot of challenges – I went to jail, etc. but I know that no one got hurt,” CZ stated. “There was no fraud, there were no users that got hurt because of my actions, so when I sleep at night I sleep very well because I know I am helping a lot of people.”