tl;dr
Binance France has undergone a significant ownership change, replacing founder Changpeng Zhao with new shareholders Yulong Yan and Lihua He. This move aims to comply with French law, which prohibits companies from having majority shareholders with criminal records. Yan and He now hold a 50% stake ea...
Binance France has undergone a significant ownership change, replacing founder Changpeng Zhao with new shareholders Yulong Yan and Lihua He. This move aims to comply with French law, which prohibits companies from having majority shareholders with criminal records. Yan and He now hold a 50% stake each in Binance France. The restructuring is part of Binance's broader reorganization efforts to adhere to regional regulations, particularly in preparation for the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in the EU.
Binance France, the European arm of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has undergone a significant ownership reshuffle in response to regulatory hurdles faced by its founder, Changpeng Zhao. Previously the sole owner of Binance France, Zhao acknowledged violating US banking regulations. French law prohibits companies from having majority shareholders with criminal records. To ensure continued operations in France and the broader European Union (EU), Binance France has brought in Yulong Yan and Lihua He as new shareholders, replacing Zhao. This strategic decision mitigates potential legal risks associated with Zhao’s past actions, especially as new regulations are set to take effect in the EU. Public filings reveal that Yan and He each hold a 50% stake in Binance France.
The ownership restructuring marks Binance’s attempt to move beyond a tumultuous period in November 2023. Following its admission of violating US banking regulations, Binance agreed to implement compliance measures and paid a hefty $4.3 billion fine. Richard Teng, a former Singaporean central bank regulator, assumed the CEO position in late 2023. This ownership change in France is a key component of a broader reorganization effort undertaken by Binance this year. The company asserts that these adjustments are necessary to adhere to regional regulations governing digital asset service providers.
In December, the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) issued a warning to Binance France, prompting the company to modify its operations following Zhao’s legal troubles. The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), expected to be implemented soon, will establish a framework for regulating cryptocurrency activity across the EU’s 27 member states. MiCA is expected to stimulate investment in the digital asset sector and requires companies like Binance to designate a base country for licensing purposes, facilitating a “passporting” system for operating throughout the EU.