- Binance is looking into the option of making investments in banks amid a fallout with multiple payment processers.
- By becoming a minority investor, Binance is hoping to steer the banks towards taking a crypto friendly stance.
Amid an exodus of payment processing partners following the crisis in the banking sector of the United States, Binance is looking to strengthen its ties with traditional financial institutions by putting up money.
Changpeng Zhao, the man behind the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, revealed that his company plans to pump investment in banks in order to influence their policies and steer them towards a crypto-friendly stance.
Binance to become a minority investor in banks
CZ appeared in a Bankless podcast hosted by Ryan Sean Adams and David Hoffman. During the podcast, Zhao shared his take on several topics, including the recent controversy with crypto wallet maker ledger, the current regulatory environment around the world, and the FUD surrounding his crypto exchange.
While reading out the questions sent by the podcast’s viewers, Hoffman highlighted one that read,
“Can you please buy a bank and make it crypto friendly?”
In response, Changpeng Zhao revealed that his company had explored the option to acquire a bank in order to make the payment services related operations smoother. However, the plan was ultimately dropped due to several reasons.
The crypto billionaire revealed that buying a bank would only make operations easier in that jurisdiction. Additionally, being owned by a crypto firm wouldn’t necessarily make the bank crypto friendly since it would have to comply with the norms set by local regulators.
Furthermore, there was no assurance that owning a bank would prompt corresponding banks abroad to facilitate crypto related transactions. However, Zhao revealed that his company is considering making investments in several banks.
By becoming a minority investor, Binance hopes to steer the banks towards a crypto friendly stance and try to set pro-crypto policies. CZ is thus aware that such a move would not necessarily guarantee that the banks take a crypto-friendly stance or give preferable treatment to the crypto exchange.
