Bloomberg'sperience in Lacwa sat down with Richard Tang, the CEO of Crypto Exchange Finance, as he celebrates a year in the role. They discussed the rise in bitcoins price and the impact that the Trump administration could have on market sentiment and regulation.
It's been a year actually since you've been in charge, so congratulations on the year. But what are the biggest changes that you've implemented at finance?
Oh, thank you so much for having me on the show. It's always a pleasure to be here. I do think that we have moved away from a founder led CEO led company firstly to a corporate structure that's a board of director led company today, so we have seven independent seven directors with three independent directors with an independent chairman at the helm and the senior management, which include myself, both very close with the board of directors to chart
our path going forward. I think that's one of the significant changes. We continue to invest very heavily into compliance. I think finance has always been a user first organization, but now we have added another dimension to that in terms of compliance span. We continue to increase it quite substantially. In twenty twenty two, our compliance span was one hundred and fifty eight million US dollars. That went up to twenty thirteen million US dollars last year and this year
you'll go up even much more. Right, so, our compliance account if you include know your Customers, Know your Business operations, and about one hundred tech staff that just purely look at how do you enhance the process, how do you include AI to come about to bring about great accuracy in the things that we do in terms of detecting anomally getting much better results from things like surveillance, transaction monitoring, Know your customer or your business, et cetera. Is totally
close to one thousand, three hundred people. So is a very substantial increasing on that frame, and we continue to invest reight heavily into compliance. We are now the most regulated exchange globally with twenty regular approval around the world.
This is alone. You've gotten six.
Regulatary approval including in India, Argentina, Indonesia, Thailand, Kazakhstan and Dubai. And that list goes on and hopefully we can announce small good results before at the end of the year.
Richard, when you look at bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. I mean they're flying off the shelves. It is the Trump trade, and actually, what are you expecting in terms of US regulation and the impact this has on finance.
Well, President Trump being elected suddenly give a boost and give greater clarity to this. But I will say that twenty twenty four has been a landmark year, and that momentum started earlier this year. So if you look at what happened in January this year with bigcoin ETF being approved firstly in the United States and the subsequently all around the world from Brazil to Canada to Australia, Hong Kong,
and that list goes on. It gives a lot of recognition and finally the rest fact that this sector deserves all along and with the likes of all the largest money manager and all the top financial institutions around the world starting to recognize the value of this space, you have Larry fin CEO of the largest money manager, Black Rock in the world, that went from a crypto skeptic to a crypto believer.
I think that it self peaks value.
So if you look at the Bitcoin ETF is the best performing ETF so far in the I think in the history of ETF right again. It shows that institutionalization has started and mainstreaming has started.
And I mean, could the Trump administration change everything from for cryptocurrencies.
Well, it's a big positive.
I think the last four years, especially if you're in the United States, I think the last four years has been pretty tough, right in terms of you know, regulation bia enforcement, which is not necessarily the best form of regulation. President we have a very pro crypto president. And if you look at it's not only President Trump himself, but the House of Representative toots of the legislator being elected a pro crypto. The same stories happening at the Senate level.
Many pro crypto legislators and policy makers are being elected. And you know, this give a lot of clarity. And President Trump has said that he's going to come out with their pro crypto frameworks to support the industry. The discussion of a bigcoin US bigcoin reserve, really I think it's also very important in that conversation. It's not only the US that's looking at having a big cooiny reserve. I think that's park conversation in many different parts of
the world. Different governments starting to look into this, and that is a continuation of the momentum that we're going to see. And I do think that I've said it earlier. I do think that the golden year of crypto is just beginning. We are six between six and seven percent crypto adoption globally, and if you look at history, what happened to Internet when you hit six to seven percent,
The next ten twenty percent will come very quickly. So the pace of adoption will come very fast in the future compared to what you have seen in the last five years.
Richard, have you spoken or has anyone at Finance actually spoken to President elect Trump and his team?
Well, I think we are not a US company. We do not have operation Engine at the US, I think, but as part of the crypto industry, we congratulate President Trump on his election. US, as you know, have an outsized influence around the world in terms of his policymaking and rules, and I think that's a big positive, right. So I do think that many regulators, especially today only
one of global regulators are regulating this space. So going forward, you're going to see a lot more positive momentum, a lot more positive sentiment towards this particular industry, which is a big positive. So certainly wish President Trump and his administration are the best in terms of supporting this industry, which.
Is to me, AI and blockchain are the.
Two important, the two most important technological advances that will set the foundation and support every economic subsector from rested to supply chain, financing to entertainment to financial service going forward. So any countries would do very well to come up with good policies mud regulations to support the innovative aspects of these two technologies for managing the risk. Right, it's going to bring in a lot for dire investment economic growth.
Are you looking more forcefully to re enter the US market? And if he has, and what kind of time.
Frame at this point in time, you know it is not under consideration, but you know, things always are fluid. We will always keep everything under close review for every market we deploy globally. Today we have more than twenty four you two million customers globally. We're very happy without global deployment and global efforts on that front. As I mentioned,
we're the most licensed exchange on a global basis. This year alone, we saw sixty two million new users coming on board and the pace of adoption as US compared to last year. The number of institutions and corporate this year has searched on our platform, so the number of onboarding has more than double. So we'll continue to focus our efforts in terms of global deployment in every region where crypto users are looking for us to support their journey, will be there.
Richard, how much are you looking at some specifics for example for the US and there could be a framework of stable coins which has been talked about by lawmakers. If that were the case, would you reintroduced your former stable coin BUSD or look at something else in the market.
I think let's let's not speculate on things that have not happened. I think if you look at global rules and regulations, many regulators are coming out with formulations of stable coins, including Europe currently ad in terms of stable coin regulations. We look forward to giving our feedback to all the different governments coming out of our own with
their own framework to come up with smart regulations. Again, as I mentioned, supporting the innovative aspects of the crypto industry while managing the risk aspect.
Similarly, if we see.
Those regulations being released in the States, we're happy to play our part. Giving our views and feedback from industry participant perspective on what makes a good framework.
For participants as well as for users.
What sort of protection should they be accorded under those frameboards.
You mentioned more financial You know established financial institutions entering crypto. What does it mean for crypto native platforms such as finance they use your platforms and will that increase or will they try and do another exchange.
We are very happy that there are more players coming into this arena. It shows the mainstreaming right, so the future is extremely right. We are very confident of what we are doing. We have always been a user first organization. As I mentioned, this is alone in terms of the number of institutions, the corporates, the family officers, High Nightwork individual onboarding on our platform. He has more than double
COMPAREDTIVE last year. A lot of trading desserts that in the past are just trading commodities, fcs, stocks and bonds are now adding a cryptodesk.
To their platform.
A lot of sovereign wealth funds, foundations and doowmands are looking to increase their allocations. So we are really support all the users in terms of their journey. Unlike many of the trad five firms. Our platform operates on a twenty four basis around the world, so operational robustness resilience
is extremely important. But it's also very important that people have around the clock ability to make investments depending on newsflow, to hatch risks depending on news flow, and to manage their investment portfolio on a very effective basis, which many of these other films will not offer, including investment into ETF.
Which is a great low cost products.
For retail investors that are not seven enough to really treat crypto on some of the mainstream exchanges like olays.
But it's no VI's approach. Once they get to know more about.
Crypto, are very confident they will gravitate to US exchanges they offer them twenty four to seven services for sure.
There's also regulatory change foot in Europe. So when do you expect to get your MIICA license in the EU and what countries have where have you applied?
As you know, we are today regulated in six different European Union countries. We have very close communications with all our regulators and you know we welcome what the European regulators have done in terms of make a framework giving clarity to the industry as well as giving clarity to users on the type.
Of investor protection they should look forward.
But you can appreciate all the conversations we have with regulators are necessarily confidential in nature, so as and when we have more news, we all share it publicly.
When will you select a global headquarter? This is the question that I keep on that I'm sure you get asked on a weekly basis.
Or not not necessarily weekly. I think I've answered that question many times have people are not answer to that, But these are a very serious question, right, so the senior management of the firm to credit about our directors, we spend a lot of time. There are a lot of considerations, right, including things like taxation, whether the hub can really support our talent going there to work as a regulatory framework is being recorded, can it, you know,
manage a firm? We have different products, streets of our nature, etc. So there are multile of considerations and these are very complicated discussion. We are in deep talks with a few jurisdiction and like you, I hope that we can make a deliberation very soon and make those disclosure, but it requires time and careful consideration, and again, once we have reached a decision point, we're definitely share it with the public.
So can you give us an idea of where you're looking at and whether you have to reapply for licenses for global headquarters.
No, I think it's a different consideration for global headquarters.
Right.
So again we are very in deep talks in several jurisdictions that's based in different regions around the world. Things like double taxation, the regulatory framework, the regime, the ability for us to have our h you know, experts and our talent poo there. Those are key constitutions that you know, we are in close composition that regulators.
So you can't tell us anymore.
I won't go anything beyond that.
Would you talk to me a little bit about you know, whether I guess the model going forward will be more joint ventures in local places or acquisitions of exchanges as a means to grow.
Well, I don't think.
I don't think there's a one size fit all right, A different mode of operations may be needed for different regions and different countries. Even in the in the one region, different mode of operations might be needed. I mean, we have for the majority of the twenty regulatory approval that we have. Majority of them are we apply on our
own right. There are a few that were acquired in terms of existing financial institution firm that we acquired and start operating, and there's I believe one joint venture so far.
So but different.
Models are needed, so we will always consider what's the best and most appropriate model in terms of operations for local deployment.
Binance also owns a piece of X. So have you or CZ been personally in touch with Elon Musk since the US elections?
Our team has been in touch with the X team. I mean not only post election. I think we have been in constant dialogue with the X team on that front. So again, you know, these are investments. We do have quite a lot of investments globally, and these are investments that we know. We keep in close constant touch with the companies that we've invested into.
So Binance is still also facing, of course, the investigation by the SEC. Do you expect that to change and to be dismissed now that Donald Trump is president elected will become of course the president, and also now that the SEC chair has.
Resigned, but there's an ongoing civil dispute between ourselves and SEC is not criminal. This is not criminal investigation. It's a civil dispute. We intend to defend our position faver robustly. We're confident of that. So I think that's ongoing. Other than that, you know, as with any dispute, we can really go into the details or any discussion on that.
What the final question where, I mean, where do you see bitcoin going? And actually if it, you know, can it go to one hundred and twenty one hundred and thirty very quickly? And then does it bring does it lift other cryptos with it?
Well, at the beginning of the year in January, people ask me where big coin will be by end of this year. Right, So at that point in time, I believe bigcoin was forty thousand. I said, you know, I believe it will definitely be higher than eighty thousand.
I think I've been proven right.
I think it's you know, it's I don't have a crystal ball to look into the future where the coin price will be. What I see currently based on market trend, is the very robust pan of demand for bitcoin right from institutions, and you're seeing a lot of allocation. I do think that if US come in with the strategic Bigcoin Reserve and many other countries falling suit and sovereign real funds endowment and the rest starting to do allocation, I think those are big positive.
I do think that. I say that at the beginning of.
Twenty twenty four, and I'll repeat it here. I do believe that twenty twenty five will be a better year than twenty twenty four because, as with any institutional adoption, which which started to see you only twenty twenty four, many of the institutions we need your time to do
due diligence. Companies need time to do to diligence, and that normally takes six nine months through the compliance program before they are really to onboard and do investments and allow their clients to come through those So I think next year we'll be right for or that with much more positive crypto regulations, firstly in the US and then
subsequently around the world. Again, that's another big positive. And thirdly, in terms of interest rate environment, I do think that for the majority of twenty twenty four, we are still in a pretty high interest rate environment, and that has come down, and I do believe that inflation is under control in most countries and with a much more benign interest rate environment. Again, that's going to be a big boost for you know, rese assets throughout the world, including crypto.
So for all those key reasons, I do believe that given the pace of crypto adoption, twenty twenty five will be a better DAAR.
But twenty twenty four went from forty to one hundred. I mean, just twenty twenty five go from one hundred to one hundred to two hundred and fifty is at the trend.
I wish I have a crystabal.
I wish I can make this picture, but I can't. You know, but many people have made those predictions. Some are extremely bullish.
I hope they are right.
Invested into crypto or for some time now, and I definitely hope they are right.
But do your own research.
That was Binance CEO Richard Tang speaking with Bloomberg's Francine Laqua.