Binance CEO seeks replacement, Huobi dissolves its company in China: Blockheads

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is looking for a person with a regulatory background to replace him. Crypto exchange Huobi is dissolving its company in China. Shenzhen begins a digital yuan trial in its public transportation system. 

Crypto exchanges in transition periods

• Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said during a June 24 virtual summit that he is looking for “a senior person with a strong compliance background” to “lead the entire organization, maybe become the new Binance CEO.” Zhao said the company needs to pivot from a technology startup to a financial services company. He added that a person with a strong regulatory background would be more suitable than him to lead this transition. Binance was founded in China in 2017 but quickly moved abroad after the country banned crypto trading in the same year. (Forkast)

• Crypto trading platform Huobi applied for dissolving its Chinese company on July 22. Huobi told crypto analyst Colin Wu that the entity to be canceled has no overlap with the operations of Huobi Global and it is currently inactive. OKEx also dissolved its Chinese company in June. Crypto exchanges have been shutting down operations in China after the government banned over-the-counter trading. (China Star Market, in Chinese)

Crypto-related crimes

• At least 1,375 cryptocurrency security incidents were reported in China in the first half of this year, incurring losses of $14.24 billion (RMB 92.24 billion), according to a report released by PeckShield, a blockchain security company, on July 25 at the World Blockchain Conference in Hangzhou. Incidents involving extortion increased 25-fold compared to the same period last year. (Sina Finance, in Chinese)

• At a July 23 government-led fraud prevention conference focusing on protecting senior citizens, a director from China’s public security ministry disclosed that the government had busted 380 cryptocurrency money laundering groups. (Sina Finance, in Chinese)

More digital yuan promotion

• Shenzhen launched a pilot program for the digital yuan on July 22. Participants can use the national virtual currency to pay bus and subway fares through the city’s official transit app. After enabling digital yuan payments in the app, passengers can pay for a ride with or without internet connections. (Sina Finance, in Chinese)

• The Chinese government organized an event with a digital yuan research institute in the northern city of Jinan on July 22. The institute was founded a year ago and focuses on the cryptographic implementation of the digital yuan. Fan Yifei, the executive governor of China’s central bank, delivered a speech at the event. Huawei representatives and others were also present. The event emphasized digital yuan and information security as a priority for the institute. (People’s Daily, in Chinese)