Fool’s game. While the platform is officially banned in the country, it would seem that China still the largest market in Binance. Behind official declarationsmany people from the Middle Kingdom still use the services of the world’s number one exchange, using a variety of technical means to circumvent bans. Has Xi Jinping’s China lost control over part of its population, or is Binance purposely allowing this to happen? The Wall Street Journal’s figures, published over the past few days, provide the beginnings of an answer.
Tens of billions, hundreds of millions: figures to match China’s immoderation
It’s always interesting to look at numbers when words have taken up too much space. When China repeats urbi et orbi that cryptocurrencies have no place in the country and that Bitcoin is a drifting corpseIn fact, in the privacy of their living rooms and hidden behind VPNs, the Chinese have a completely different opinion on the matter. Based on internal Binancethe Wall Street Journal was able to determine that the People’s Republic of China is quite simply the first market Changpeng Zhao’s platform.
With 90 billion trading volumes in the country in May out of 670 billion in total, the world’s second most populous country brings in the most money for Binance. South KoreaTurkey and Vietnam complete the podium at the start of 2023. In terms of user numbers, China also tops the list, with 5.6 million out of 128 million in total. But most surprising of all is the number of politically exposed people (PPE) who are among the exchange’s users.
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Binance and the Chinese authorities are « je t’aime, moi non plus «
There are about 100 000if the WSJ’s figures are to be believed, based on internal data from the crypto exchange, as well as testimonials from former employees. These PPEs are in China « people who hold influential positions in government offices or who maintain close ties with such people. ». Normally, financial institutions subject such ultra-sensitive customers to extensive checks to avoid money laundering or illicit financial activities. However, it seems that Binance has opted for discretion, by being rather light on KYC.
A privileged relationship with China is not new, since after the total ban in the country in 2021, Binance would have continued its activities, encouraging users to circumvent the law through various technical means. Current management denies such practices and officially confirms that the Binance.com site does not operate in the country and is not accessible to Chinese residents. A spokesperson immediately responded to the publication from the WSJ.
So, the Chinese authorities at this point naive? It’s hard to believe, so much so that they seem to have a stranglehold on everything that goes on in the country. However, as with certain experiments in Web 3, the Communist Party doesn’t necessarily do what it says, and there’s a significant discrepancy between what it says and what it does. internal political communication and reality on the ground.
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