Benzinga - Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has denied owning shares in CommEx, the entity that acquired his company's Russia business.
Although there are certain operational overlaps, Zhao stated.
What Happened: When Binance decided to cease operations in Russia, there were murmurs about the nature of the exchange's relationship with CommEx — especially given the similarities in their operational designs.
Interestingly, such intricate dynamics in the crypto world, including the challenges faced by major exchanges like Binance, are expected to be a focal point at Benzinga's Future of Digital Assets conference on Nov. 14. The event aims to delve deep into the evolving landscape of digital currencies and the challenges and opportunities they present.
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"There will be crypto transfers between Binance and CommEx as users migrate with their funds," Zhao said. "There are also older transactions during the testing phase of the integrations. This is expected."
Some former Binance CIS team members (those servicing Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States) might also join CommEx, but Zhao views this as a positive development due to the similarities between the two platforms.
Binance had requested CommEx adopt a design and APIs akin to theirs to ensure a seamless user experience for migrating customers.
Additionally, he confirmed that CommEx would not cater to U.S. or EU users, adhering to IP and KYC blocks — a condition Binance had set in their agreement.
However, the crux of Zhao's statement was his explicit disassociation from any ownership ties with CommEx.
"I am not their UBO, nor do I own any shares there," he said. "The deal does not have any buyback options." This was in contrast to other businesses like Mercedes, McDonalds, and Nissan, which reportedly have buy-back options in their Russian sell-off deals.
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