By all means,
Binance
is considered the biggest and most successful crypto asset sharing in the world. Nowadays, the crypto exchange boasts more than 21 million user accounts and provides its services to all parts of the world. Guided by a need to increase money’s freedom all over the world, Binance takes active steps toward the further extension of its functionality, fully in step with the respective regulations and keeping high standards for safety.
Earlier this year, Binance made another important step toward becoming future-proof of compliance in the EU. On March 7,
Bifinity UAB
opened in Lithuania and is directly related to the
Binance Group
. It was the official payment provider in both fiat and digital currencies called Bifinity UAB. Even though it was founded under the law of Lithuania, its services spread to the European Economic Area, including the United Kingdom.
Services covered by Bifinity UAB
Stemmed from the variety of services provided by Binance globally, Bifinity UAB provides an easy, safe way to trade both fiat and cryptocurrencies. It supports more than 50 crypto assets and many of the most popular systems and methods of payment, such as, among others, VISA and Mastercard. Moreover, these services for the mainstream and crypto traders can easily be integrated via a user-friendly, intuitive API into their platforms. This ultimately opens the door for more and more businesses to start offering safe and easy crypto payments.
Besides functionality, Bifinity UAB is eager to propagate values among Binance users, already loved by users around the world. Among those, he will definitely seek active enlargement of global cryptocurrency trading, training his audience, and further processing of payments with low commissions. “As cryptocurrency and the economy of Web3 keep expanding, we see greater demand to build better fiat-to-crypto ramps to bridge the gap from the traditional financial world into a decentralized and centralized crypto economy. Binance’s mission is to increase the freedom of money worldwide. With the launch of Bifinity, we look forward to accelerating mass cryptography adoption” ā said Helen Hai, president of Bifinity.
By collaboration, Bifinity UAB is already actively cooperating with other blockchain platforms: Safepal, Zilliqa, EQONEX, and Checkout.com, in expanding the functionality of their service. Consequently, as a result of this partnership, these platforms will broaden their services to include options of crypto-transactions safely and at low cost as one of the ways of payment for goods and services. Notably, on behalf of the Binance Group, the company also offers Binance Custody – an autonomous, virtually full-service insured custody solution.
In respect to Bifinity UAB, from an end-user perspective, this is set up to bridge more user-friendly buying and selling crypto services and points of entry, therefore creating easy access in crypto trading for anyone. From the point of making sure of the high level of security and full compliance with all the rules in question, at the design process, all users go through the highest level of the Know Your Customer check. By default, this process was aimed at the mitigation of risks such as fraud and money laundering, besides offering ongoing monitoring of the transactions, since all this would help financial companies find suspicious users’ behavior and probable terrorist financing.
THE HISTORY OF BINANCE IN LITHUANIA
Binance Group’s decision to open a company in Lithuania followed a warning that Binance was issued in 2021 by the Bank of Lithuania. This institution regulates all the financial service providers operating in the country and ensures full compliance with the relevant provisions, together with Lithuanian legislation. According to the Bank of Lithuania, this warning was given because of a possible failure to meet these requirements. The main problem that caused the warning was alternative services, especially those related to crypto derivatives like options, futures, and securities.
Further to the warning, the Bank of Lithuania called on Binance to seek out a proper permit and licensing status in Lithuania in accordance with relevant legislation. Bifinity UAB was certainly one step in that direction, placing Binance Group services in Lithuania under the direct control of the Bank of Lithuania.
Although the procedure for getting a
crypto license in Lithuania
is pretty straightforward, it contains many nuances, and may be expensive and long-lasting if either the requirements of regulators are not observed or initial training is considered poor. RUE is a team composed of experienced and competent lawyers who will provide smooth, orderly procedures for obtaining a crypto license in Lithuania.
History of Binance
Binance was founded in the year 2017 by Changpeng Zhao. The company first came into the limelight of the cryptocurrency market for offering a never-before-seen cryptocurrency trading platform. All in a very short time span, Binance has grown into one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, marking tremendous growth and creating major milestones. The story of Binance is one of the most perfect versions of a successful Fintech startup, which faced every challenge with determination and climbed high.
| Aspect | Details |
| The Start of the Road | Binance set itself apart early on by focusing on user experience, offering an intuitive interface, a wide range of trading pairs, and low fees. Founded by Changpeng Zhao, who had extensive experience in financial software, the platform was built with the needs of cryptocurrency traders in mind. |
| Stages of Attracting Investments | Binance raised substantial investments, including its successful ICO in July 2017, which raised $15 million. This allowed the company to rapidly scale operations, expand its team, and develop its technological infrastructure. |
| Expansion and Innovation | Binance expanded by creating its own blockchain platform, Binance Chain, and launching the Binance DEX, a decentralized exchange. It also introduced financial products like staking and savings accounts, while investing in blockchain startups to foster further innovation. |
| Overcoming Obstacles | Despite regulatory challenges in several countries, Binance has worked to comply with regulations, improve transparency, and build user trust. |
| Prospects and Future | Binance remains a leading player in the cryptocurrency industry, focusing on enhancing user experience, security, and involvement in blockchain projects. Its innovative approach and customer-centric attitude have positioned it as a major contributor to the future of blockchain technology. |
Changpeng Zhao
Changpeng Zhao, more affectionately known to the whole cryptocurrency world as CZ, is probably one of the most recognizable faces in the world of digital assets. He is the founder and chief executive of Binance, currently the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, and has been instrumental in shaping the modern cryptocurrency industry. His rags-to-riches success story begins even further from the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies-in fact, in the broad financial technology world, with extensive experience in software development and management.
| Aspect | Details |
| Education and Early Years | Born in China, Zhao moved to Canada as a child. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from McGill University. This education provided him with a strong technical foundation, which later helped him succeed in the tech and financial industries. |
| Career Before Binance | Zhao worked in various tech roles before founding Binance. He developed trading systems for Bloomberg and Fusion Systems, gaining deep expertise in financial technology. Later, his roles at startups like Blockchain.info and OKCoin introduced him to blockchain and cryptocurrency. |
| Founding of Binance | In 2017, Zhao founded Binance, which quickly became a leading cryptocurrency exchange. His strategic vision, adaptability, and focus on user security were key factors in its rapid growth. Binance also invested in innovations like the Binance Smart Chain and DeFi products, positioning itself as a market leader. |
| Leadership and Vision | Zhao’s leadership extends beyond business, as he is a prominent voice in the global debate on cryptocurrency regulation. His focus on innovation and strategic foresight has made Binance a major player in the financial technology industry, inspiring others to pursue opportunities in the digital economy. |
Early life
Changpeng Zhao-just CZ for friends-was born in 1977 in Jiangsu, China. His family were teachers, and in 1984 the future king of the crypto industry’s father enrolled at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Chanpeng, his mum, and older sister had to wait five years for a visa to join him.
After the success of Binance, Zhao recalled how his father, upon his arrival, gave him his first computer and helped him learn the basics of programming. Later on, when at school, the future billionaire took several programming courses. At McGill University, he sent a request for an internship to one company in Montreal, which was working with HTML.
Later, a third-year internship in Japan was related to trading. “I was attracted by the fact that the job was in Tokyo, but then I realised that, gosh, there’s a lot of money flowing through these systems, just a huge amount. So I stayed in this industry forever,” Zhao recalled. From Tokyo to New York-most at Bloomberg LP-Changpeng did his fair share of world travel on the path to success. Later, he relocated to Shanghai, where he first took an interest in cryptocurrency and went on to found Binance.
Zhao got interested in Bitcoin during a poker game back in 2013 when the head of BTC China, Bobby Lee, told him to convert 10 percent of his capital into this cryptocurrency. Chanpeng studied the market and bought some virtual coins to “play around”. In 2014, he sold his house in Shanghai for buying Bitcoin. That’s when Zhao finally quit and joined full-time Blockchain.info platform, and a year later he started to work on launching his own exchange, at the same time working at Blockchain LLC and also bitcoin wallet provider and cryptocurrency exchanger OKCoin.
He founded Binance in 2017, and within six months, it was the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. Chanpeng said at that time Bitcoin was rising in value, the sites of exchanges were “crashing,” and the platforms didn’t have any support services.
Zhao rounded up customers and wooed them with a minimalist interface, reduced commissions, and its own cryptocurrency – BNB. Several days before the launch, the exchange managed to raise $15 m by issuing and selling BNB to investors. A year later, Forbes listed Changpen among the most promising crypto-entrepreneurs and estimated his fortune at $1-2 bn.
Since then, Binance has been on an acquisition spree, acquiring other crypto providers and launching new business lines, from a venture capital fund and Bitcoin mining operations to the Binance Pay payment system.
Today, Forbes estimates Zhao’s fortune is worth $15 billion.
On November 21, 2023, the CEO of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange Binance Changpeng Zhao announced his resignation. He agreed to plead guilty to charges of violating US anti-money laundering laws and will pay a $50 million fine.
At the same time, Binance itself has agreed to pay a $4.3bn fine to the US authorities.
According to Reuters, citing US authorities, the exchange knowingly withheld information from law enforcement, compromised the sanctions enforcement regime, and failed to report suspicious transactions.
Among them are financial transactions of child sexual abuse, narcotics trafficking, and the activities of terrorist organizations such as Hamas.
“I know it’s the right thing to do,” Changpeng Zhao wrote of his resignation on social media X, formerly Twitter. “I’ve made mistakes, and I need to take responsibility for them. It’s what’s best for our entire community, for Binance and for me personally.”
The deal with US authorities will see Binance work with the US government’s financial monitoring for five years.
Why Regulated United Europe?
Regulated United Europe OĆ (RUE) is a European legal consulting firm specializing in financial licensing, company formation, and regulatory compliance. Since 2016, we have helped hundreds of businesses obtain crypto, gambling, forex, and EMI/PSP licenses across 35+ jurisdictions.
With offices in four EU countries and a team of experienced lawyers, we provide end-to-end support ā from initial consultation and company registration to license acquisition and ongoing compliance management.
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Clients Served
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Fully registered and regulated EU company with partnerships across major financial centers.
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Our experts speak English, German, Russian, Chinese, and 12+ other languages for global client support.
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