Binance.US is inching closer to getting hundreds of millions of dollars in a new funding round. Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder and CEO of Binance, disclosed this news today during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore. Per CZ, Binance’s American business will get these funds in a month on two as it gears up to go public.
During the forum, CZ noted that crypto is the future because it is a technology. According to him, technology innovations do not stop. He compared crypto to the internet at its initial stages, saying it might grow slowly but will never stop. CZ believes crypto is the future technology that will power money and financial markets, among other things.
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He added that all crypto-related applications that do not exist in the traditional finance sector are the tools that will help the nascent industry continue growing. According to him, these applications have enabled entrepreneurs to raise money for their startups globally. He also spoke of how NFTs have given artists and content creators a chance to monetize their work.
On top of this, CZ mentioned decentralized social media, play-to-earn games, noting that these are industries that can only run on crypto. The Binance executive added that these developments are helping crypto gain an edge over the traditional finance system. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that crypto has a long way to go before replacing the legacy system.
Crypto will take decades to go mainstream
Explaining why the use of crypto as a payments option has not taken off yet, CZ said traditional means such as credit cards and mobile payment systems are currently more effective for paying for items used daily. On the other hand, cryptos are more effective when it comes to cross-border payments.
With this in mind, he said he would not like crypto to replace the US dollar as the world’s reserve dollar directly. CZ believes a small but progressive approach would be ideal because a massive abrupt change would harm many people.
The 44-year-old CEO pointed out that around 5% of the global population has already embraced crypto. He added that the nascent asset class would only achieve mass adoption if it comes under a sensible regulatory regime. According to him, people will feel safer embracing crypto if players in the sector adhere to regulations.
Giving his prediction for when crypto adoption will hit 90%, CZ said it would take at least one to two decades.
On the matter that has seen Binance withdraw from multiple jurisdictions this year, CZ said the company has already set up its headquarters. However, he failed to disclose where it is, saying Binance will publicize the information soon enough.
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