For the last 3-4 weeks it seems that all of the major crypto news you heard about involved either FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, or a combination of the two. That is up until the last couple of days when Binance and CZ have come roaring back and have made a series of splashes in the crypto space. 

So What News Has Binance and CZ Made?

Bitcoin Trading Fees

The first big thing that came out but kind of got swept under the rug was that Binance was eliminating the trading fee collected with Bitcoin trades. When announced CZ was quick to frame it as something to help out traders since so many are underwater and struggling due to the bear market. It should be noted though that it also really helps set Binance apart from the other big CEXs like Coinbase and FTX who have recently had a ton of free airtime on CNBC and articles were written about them. 

This move reminds me a lot of what Robinhood did when they first came out and offered feeless trades. At the time no brokers offered this and so it was something that shook up the trading world and helped give rise to retail traders. It forced the traditional brokers to move to offer this and changed the whole stock market world. Binance in this situation gets to serve as a first-mover in the space and with its vast number of users will keep the users they have within their realm. 

Spanish Operating License

Arguably the biggest thing was how Binance secured another European operating license expanding its footprint on the European continent. I will say I did not see this country coming as while it is important there were other countries that I thought Binance would strive to receive the license from first but Spain is still a huge win for the company. After years now of being dealt blows when it came to the legality of its operations, they have turned it around with wins in both the Middle East and now growing momentum in Europe. 

While even CZ has said that in the next 10 years odds are that DEXs will replace CEXs right now with how governments are looking and regulating crypto CEXs still have a key place. CZ is trying to cash in on this and use the money generated to not only help build out the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) but also follow in Coinbase's footsteps by investing in a variety of projects setting itself up long-term. Since Spain is a huge vacation destination that people go to and spend a ton of money being able to access your crypto to pay for goods and services could very well be an important thing moving forward. With more high-end clothing and goods stores accepting crypto a place like Barcelona fits in well for someone wanting to spend their crypto. 

Iranian Issue with Binance.US IPO insight

In recent months it has become a more popular idea that Binance.US would IPO on a U.S. stock market pretty soon. The reason that I think that this would occur is that it would allow Binance.US to work with regulators to sort out issues that have plagued the company since it first tried to enter the market. Going public means that the SEC has gone through your records and given you a clean bill. Binance.US has even continued to add to its C-Suite with the hires further looking like a company angling to go public. 

As much as Binance would want its segment Binance.US to go public an issue arose today that could tank the whole idea. It has been rumored that for months the US has been investigating Binance and Binance.US but the reason for it has not been entirely clear. Today it broke that even after sanctions were reimposed on Iranians and Binance instructed Iranian users to liquidate their accounts that some skirted this. If this turns out to be true then it is not only the US who will be investigating but also several Western Nations as it would violate what they implemented as well. This would be a huge step back for Binance and hurt them as it would prove US regulators right after years of accusing Binance of different things but never quite proving anything. Regulators would finally have their one thing to hold onto and say look at this we told you Binance was up to no good. 

If the accusations are proven true I am not sure what exactly the US could or would do. Since Binance.US is not very large or moves a huge amount of crypto besides a fine there isn't a ton I see regulators doing. The true damage would be in Binance's name and image as it would be a stain that would be hard to wash away given Western sentiment as a whole towards the country. The next few days should tell us what the regulators think or are aiming for. 

Please know I am not a financial advisor and make sure you do your own research! If you enjoyed this article and would like to further support me below are a few referral links that if you used when signing up I would appreciate it! Also, follow me on Twitter @Cje95_

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