Binance.US reports having hundreds of millions of dollars to buy distressed companies

The exchange is considering several firms for mergers or acquisitions at once

20.12.2022 - 08:05

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Crypto exchange Binance.US is exploring more acquisition opportunities after agreeing to buy Voyager Digital’s assets out of bankruptcy in a deal valued $1.022 billion on Monday.

“We are in the data room for many other assets that make sense as we focus on growth,” said Binance.US Chief Executive Officer Brian Shroder in an interview. “We are learning about the deals. We are also looking at several firms that are in trouble right now.”

The purpose for any M&A deal would be to drive new users and assets to the Binance.US platform, Shroder said, as well as adding technology, products or services it currently doesn’t have. There’s no earmarked amount for acquisitions, and the exchange still has “hundreds of millions of dollars in current assets” from its growth round, he said.

Binance.US raised more than $200 million at a $4.5 billion valuation in April.

“There was a narrative around Sam being the white knight — turns out the white knight was not genuine,” Shroder said of Sam Bankman-Fried, whose earlier deal to buy Voyager assets fell through as the FTX exchange imploded. “That is not what we are interested in being perceived as. My goal is for Binance.US to be perceived as a boring, yet trustworthy and dependable crypto exchange.”

6/ We always maintain 1:1 reserves, and are subject to regular audits and regulatory reporting by government entities. We do not offer margin products, undertake proprietary trading, or take on any corporate debt.— Brian Shroder (@BrianShroder)December 19, 2022

A smaller exchange with millions of users, Binance.US is a separate legal entity with a licensing agreement with Binance.com, the world’s biggest crypto platform. Binance.US is majority-owned by Changpeng Zhao, the founder and chief executive officer of Binance. Unlike Binance.com, it doesn’t offer derivatives trading or margin trading.

This material is taken from the website bloomberg.com.

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