Binance’s Global Shuffle and the Story Behind Its Ever-Moving Headquarters
When you look back at Binance’s journey since 2017, it almost feels like watching a company constantly on the move, trying to stay one step ahead of regulators, market pressures, and its own explosive growth. What’s striking is how deliberately mysterious Binance has been about its actual headquarters. For years, the company insisted it had none—something founder Changpeng Zhao, or CZ, often defended by saying that “Bitcoin doesn’t have an office.” That line worked for a while, but eventually, regulators—especially in the United States—lost their patience. Their questions escalated into a criminal investigation, which ended with CZ pleading guilty to a criminal count and Binance itself pleading guilty to three. Only afterward did it become clear why such evasiveness had been maintained for so long.
Now, with CZ having served his prison sentence and even receiving a presidential pardon, it’s interesting to step back and recall just how far and wide Binance traveled as it built what became the world’s largest crypto exchange. Its origins go back to China in 2017, when it capitalized on a wave of enthusiasm for digital assets. But just months after it launched, regulatory hostility forced the company out of Shanghai. That triggered a pattern that would become familiar: short stays, quick pivots, and strategic relocations whenever authorities tightened their grip.
Japan was the next stop, with a small office in Tokyo giving Binance a temporary home. But once Japan’s Financial Services Agency warned them about operating without proper licenses, the team quickly dispersed its operations into multiple countries, including Taiwan and Malta. That dispersal became a defining characteristic of Binance’s structure—operations spread across continents, staff scattered globally, and no single place that could be pinned down as the headquarters.
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Malta was widely publicized as Binance’s new home back in 2018, and the company even briefed media as if it were settling there for good. But the entire move turned out to be more symbolic than real. Within a year and a half, Maltese authorities stated that Binance wasn’t actually licensed to operate there, and effectively denied that the exchange had ever established a substantial presence.
Other registrations followed—Cayman Islands, Seychelles, and several other offshore jurisdictions. These places offered friendly legal structures but no meaningful operations. Meanwhile, in places like Singapore, Binance hired hundreds of remote workers, only to later shut down its local subsidiary after regulatory pressure.
It wasn’t until CZ purchased an apartment in Dubai and Binance secured licenses in the UAE and Bahrain that the company finally appeared interested in anchoring itself somewhere. Even then, the company avoided declaring the UAE as its global headquarters, though its focus there strongly suggested a new central base was emerging.
Alongside all these moves, Binance quietly expanded its reach by creating or acquiring subsidiaries in countries like France, India, Australia, Spain, Turkey, and the United States, building a sprawling network that operated under different regulatory frameworks.
Looking at this history now, it becomes clear that Binance’s globe-trotting wasn’t just about finding a home—it was about building a structure designed to survive anywhere, even if it meant belonging nowhere.
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