CZ hints that France is in the running as the new Binance global headquarters

Binance boss Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said France stands out as a “natural choice” to locate a regional or even global headquarters.

“France will be a natural choice for a regional, and even perhaps global, head office.”

Speaking to the French financial media group Les Echos, CZ talked about the challenge of setting up physical locations – a move prompted by the global regulatory clampdown on Binance, which started during the summer.

The backlash triggered a series of drastic changes to the platform, including the removal of Singapore dollar trading pairs and the reduction of futures leverage to a maximum of x20, to name a few.

In all instances, Binance said changes to how it operates were brought about by the need to meet regulatory compliance.

Binance looking to address regulatory concerns

While some observers saw the clampdown as an attack on crypto by targeting the world’s biggest exchange, others said changes to how Binance operates are long overdue.

In particular, the sub-Reddit r/Binance_Lawsuit features the stories of aggrieved Binance customers who describe their experiences as fraudulent to the extent of gathering support for legal action.

CZ has always maintained that Binance is committed to putting its customers first. Any problems experienced were down to the platform growing too quickly, rather than any deliberate attempt to defraud.

“Binance has grown very quickly and we haven’t always got everything exactly right, but we are learning and improving every day.”

In any case, CZ said the firm is responding by shoring up its compliance team, including the appointment of key figures with the necessary compliance experience at the board level.

Why is France so appealing?

A significant criticism leveled at Binance has been its decentralized structure. Meaning it does not have a physical headquarters with which to address complaints.

CZ said this is something they have been working to address, adding that the firm is looking at having a setup of local, regional, and global locations.

“However, this industry must be regulated. We are therefore in the process of setting up headquarters at several levels: local, regional and global.”

Commenting on how the French regulators, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), have received Binance’s presence in the country, CZ said they were “pro-business,” clear, but very demanding.

Having applied for PSAN (digital asset service providers) approval, CZ added that more would be known in the next six to twelve months. And that a French location still depends on the outcome of the PSAN application.