Changpeng Zhao: looking at possibly owning banks

During an interview done by the Bloomberg team at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, Zhao said that he is willing to make minority investments or pursue outright acquisitions in order to reach the previously stated objective.

Changpeng Zhao, CEO and founder of Binance, said that he is contemplating purchasing banks in an effort to further bridge the gap between conventional banking and cryptocurrency.

“There are individuals who possess specific municipal licenses, including conventional banking, payment service providers, and even banks. We are examining these factors”, Zhao was reported as saying by Bloomberg.

Zhao has previously said that Binance has more than $1 billion available for acquisitions, and the company recently pledged $500 million to help finance Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter. This year, Zhao’s acquisition strategy has centered on growing into the publishing, decentralized finance (DeFi), and non-fungible token (NFT) industries.

Zhao also highlighted that investing in banks is a sensible strategy for Binance because, when the cryptocurrency exchange collaborates with a bank, it often drives a large number of new customers to the bank, therefore raising its price.

Considering the above, both Zhao and Binance have recently implemented strategic moves aimed at strengthening their current standing in the industry.

Taking into account Elon Musk’s $44 billion outlay to purchase Twitter, the company has already given about $500 million. The recent breakup of the board of directors that previously made decisions, has led many to wonder about possible linkages between Zhao and the principal social network.