Binance CEO denies ties to CommEX, a firm that acquired the exchange’s business in Russia
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Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, denied having any ties to a company called CommEX, which reportedly purchased Binance’s business in Russia.
The speculation emerged after Binance announced its withdrawal from the Russian market earlier this week. The decision was made after the US Department of Justice investigation into potential violation of sanctions.
Zhao addressed the rumors, similarities, and terms of the deal
CommEX raised suspicions and questions due to a number of similarities between it and Binance. The similarities can mostly be found in the platform’s user interface and the fact that the company was established fairly recently.
Rumors emerged immediately, with speculation ranging from Zhao being the owner of the company, holder of its shares, or even its executive. However, CZ has since strongly denied having anything to do with the company.
In his recent post on X, the Binance CEO said that he is not CommEX’s UBO, nor does he own any shares there. He added that the deal with the company to sell Binance’s Russia-based business was made with no buyback options. He particularly mentioned this because some businesses, such as McDonald’s, Mercedes, and Nissan, have made deals that include buy-back options in their sell-off deals in Russia. For Binance, however, this is not the case, as Zhao stressed.
He also noted that a few of the ex-Binance CIS team members may join CommEx’s team, and that some may have already done so. As far as Binance is concerned, this is not a problem. Zhao even noted that this is a good thing. As for the design, APIs, and other similarities to Binance, he noted that the exchange specifically asked for these things to look similar to ensure a smooth user experience and an easier transition.
Some answers about Binance/CommEx.
There will be crypto transfers between Binance & CommEx as users migrate with their funds. There are also older transactions during the testing phase of the integrations. This is expected.
A few ex-Binance CIS team members may join their team,…
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) September 28, 2023
Financial details of the acquisition remain unknown
Zhao also said that CommEx does not offer services to users in the EU or the US. They have IP and KYC blocks, which is also something that was specifically requested by Binance as part of the deal, according to Zhao.
Binance announced the sale of its Russian branch to CommEx this Wednesday, but it shared little information about the deal. At this point, not even the financial terms of the acquisition are known to the public. What is known is that the exchange will not have an ongoing revenue share or an option to repurchase shares in the business.
Even so, Biannce assured its former users in Russia that their assets would be safe, and that there would be an orderly process regarding the users’ migration to the new platform.
