With $1 billion in cash, Binance begins acquiring banks

The crypto winter of 2022 has been brutal for some of the industry’s popular crypto companies. However, for giants like Binance and FTX with cash on hand, it’s been a great time to add more companies to their bag.

Crypto exchange Binance said it was ready to spend $1 billion this year on some key acquisitions in the market. According to the latest developments, Binance is now looking to buy banks to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the crypto industry. Speaking at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said:

“There are people who hold certain types of local licenses, traditional banks, payment service providers, even banks. We are interested in those things. We want to be the bridge between crypto and the traditional, financial world.”

CZ’s comments clearly reflect that the traditional and crypto financial markets are becoming more intertwined by the day. Therefore, it would be great if both facets work in synergy instead of pushing rivalry. Some of the biggest financial institutions, such as BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, are already moving further into the crypto-currency market.

Despite this year’s crypto winter, BlackRock has decided to partner with Coinbase in August 2022, in order to offer its institutional clients exposure to digital assets.

Binance expands its presence

Binance chief Changpeng Zhao said he is open to partial or full acquisitions. He sees it as an opportunity for Binance to capitalize on the expected increase in the bank’s share price after signing a deal with Binance. He adds:

“What we have found is that when banks work with us, we drive so many users to them, so the valuation of the bank goes up exponentially, like why not just invest in them as well, so we capture some of the upside of the stock.”

Changpeng Zhao is also an investor in Twitter, offering $500 million to Elon Musk in his recent Twitter deal. He has also expressed interest in joining Twitter’s board of directors if Elon Musk wants to. In addition, Binance is also willing to provide blockchain-based solutions to the problem of bots on Twitter.