History of Binance in Timeline

Binance is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume. Founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, it initially operated in China before relocating due to regulatory restrictions, eventually establishing no official headquarters. Binance is notable for its substantial holdings of digital assets, reportedly exceeding $200 billion, making it a major player in the cryptocurrency market.

September 2017: Move out of China due to Cryptocurrency Ban

In September 2017, Binance moved its servers and headquarters out of China in advance of the Chinese government's ban on cryptocurrency trading.

January 2018: Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange

In January 2018, Binance became the largest cryptocurrency exchange with a market capitalization of $1.3 billion.

March 2018: Intention to open office in Malta

In March 2018, Binance announced its intentions to open an office in Malta after stricter regulations in Japan and China.

April 2018: Memorandum of Understanding with Bermuda

In April 2018, Binance signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Bermuda.

June 2018: Investment in Chiliz

In June 2018, Binance and three other firms raised $65 million for sports blockchain company Chiliz.

July 2018: Acquisition of Trust Wallet

In July 2018, Binance acquired Trust Wallet, a decentralized cryptocurrency wallet for an undisclosed sum composed of a mixture of cash, Binance stock, and BNB tokens.

August 2018: Funding for Terra Stablecoin Project

In August 2018, Binance along with three other large exchanges raised $32 million to fund the stablecoin project Terra, intended to facilitate cryptocurrency transactions with less volatility.

January 2019: Partnership with Simplex

In January 2019, Binance announced that it had partnered with Israel-based payment processor Simplex to enable some cryptocurrencies to be purchased with debit and credit cards.

May 2019: Security Breach and Bitcoin Theft

On 7 May 2019, Binance revealed that it had been the victim of a "large scale security breach" in which hackers had stolen 7,000 bitcoin worth around $40 million. Binance halted all transactions for one week and pledged to reimburse customers.

June 2019: Prohibition of US Users

In June 2019, Binance announced it would prohibit US passport holders and residents, and would set up a new entity binance.us to support those customers.

September 2019: Introduction of Perpetual Futures Contracts

In September 2019, Binance began offering perpetual futures contracts, allowing leverage as high as 125 times the value of the contracts.

November 2019: Acquisition of WazirX

In November 2019, Binance announced it was acquiring Indian bitcoin exchange WazirX.

2019: Binance Jersey Launch

In 2019, Binance announced Binance Jersey, a Jersey-based exchange which offers fiat-to-cryptocurrency pairs, including the Euro and the British pound.

February 2020: MFSA Statement on Binance

On 21 February 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) issued a public statement noting that Binance "is not authorized by the MFSA to operate in the cryptocurrency sphere and is therefore not subject to regulatory oversight by the MFSA."

July 2020: Strategic Partnership with Chinese State-Owned Enterprise

In July 2020, Binance announced a "strategic partnership" with a Chinese state-owned enterprise under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

October 2020: Forbes Leaks Documents on Deceptive Corporate Structure

On 28 October 2020, Forbes staff released leaked documents showing that Binance and its CEO created a corporate structure designed to deceive United States regulators and secretly profit from cryptocurrency investors. Forbes claimed that Binance officially blocks access from IP addresses located in the United States, but "potential customers would be taught how to evade geographic restrictions".

April 2021: Retained Title as Largest Exchange

In April 2021, Binance retained its title as the largest cryptocurrency exchange despite competition from Coinbase.

May 2021: Investigation by IRS and DOJ

In May 2021, it was reported that Binance was under investigation by both the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Department of Justice on allegations of money laundering and tax offenses.

June 2021: UK Financial Conduct Authority Order

In June 2021, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority ordered Binance to cease all regulated activity in the United Kingdom.

2021: Sponsorship of Africa Cup of Nations

Binance sponsored the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021 and is taking crypto education to many countries on the continent.

2021: Sharing Information with Rosfinmonitoring

In April 2021, Reuters reported that Binance shared information with Rosfinmonitoring about funds raised by late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's network.

February 2022: $200 Million Stake in Forbes

In February 2022, Binance took a $200 million stake in Forbes, though it's unclear if this investment was ever completed.

March 2022: Refusal to Ban Russian Users

In March 2022, amidst the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Zhao refused to ban users from Russia, citing "financial freedom". Binance later softened the tone of their opposition but not their policy, and also pointed to their donation of $10 million for humanitarian needs in Ukraine.

May 2022: Forbes Halts Plans to Go Public

In May 2022, Forbes Global Media Holdings halted plans to go public via a merger with Magnum Opus Acquisition Ltd. Zhao stated the plan had changed but was still in discussions.

May 2022: Registration of Legal Entity in Italy

On 27 May 2022, Binance announced the registration of its legal entity in Italy and plans to open offices in the country.

June 2022: Temporary Halt of Bitcoin Withdrawals

On 13 June 2022, Binance announced a temporary halt to bitcoin withdrawals due to serious declines in cryptocurrency values. Withdrawals were allowed to resume later the same day.

July 2022: Registration to Operate in Spain

In July 2022, Binance registered to operate in Spain.

August 2022: Dispute over WazirX Acquisition

In August 2022, Binance founder Zhao claimed the deal to acquire WazirX was never signed, disputing the acquisition announced in 2019.

October 2022: Investment in Twitter Acquisition

Binance invested US$500 million towards the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk that completed in October 2022.

November 2022: Acquisition of Sakura Exchange

On 30 November 2022, Binance purchased Sakura Exchange, allowing Binance to re-enter the Japanese cryptocurrency market.

November 2022: Offer to Buy FTX's Non-US Operations

On 8 November 2022, Binance offered to buy rival cryptocurrency exchange FTX's non-US operations (FTX.com) to help cover the latter's liquidity crunch. Binance backed out of the deal the next day.

2022: Reuters Investigative Reports

Over 2022, Reuters released several investigative reports on Binance, including instances of withholding information, ignoring money laundering warnings, and acting as a conduit for laundering billions of dollars. Binance disputed the accuracy of these reports.

January 2023: Arkham Intelligence identifies money laundering nexus

In January 2023, Arkham Intelligence identified a potential money laundering operation involving Bitzlato, a smaller exchange, using Binance intermediary wallets which deposited $15 million in crypto onto the Binance platform.

January 2023: Registration to Operate in Sweden

In January 2023, Binance registered to operate in Sweden.

February 2023: Reuters reports on Binance transfers to Merit Peak Ltd.

In February 2023, Reuters reported that Binance transferred over $404 million from a Binance.US account to Merit Peak Ltd., managed by Zhao, during the first three months of 2021, raising questions about Binance.US's independence.

February 2023: Zhao's Disappointment with Forbes

In February 2023, Zhao tweeted his disappointment that Forbes "continues to write baseless articles" about Binance.

March 2023: Ban on Euro and Dollar Purchases for Russian Residents

In March 2023, Binance banned Russian residents from buying euros and dollars through its p2p service, leading to European users losing the ability to buy rubles.

March 2023: Senators request documents related to Binance's compliance

In March 2023, US Senators Warren, Van Hollen, and Marshall accused Binance of facilitating over $10 billion in illegal financial activity and requested documents related to Binance's regulatory compliance. Also in March 2023, the CFTC filed a lawsuit against Binance and Zhao, alleging willful evasion of US law and breaches of derivatives rules.

April 2023: VIP clients of Binance revealed

In April 2023, Radix Trading, Jane Street Capital, and Tower Research Capital were revealed to be VIP clients of Binance.

June 2023: Outflows after SEC Lawsuit

In June 2023, Binance had 790 million US dollars in outflows after the SEC announced its lawsuit and Forbes reported that the company had 120 million users globally.

June 2023: SEC sues Binance and Zhao

In June 2023, the SEC sued Binance and Zhao on 13 charges for alleged violations of US securities rules.

July 2023: Senior Executives Resignations and Workforce Reduction

In July 2023, several senior executives resigned from Binance, and the Wall Street Journal reported that Binance had cut its global workforce by as many as 1,000 staff.

September 2023: Exit from Russia and Sale to CommEX

In September 2023, Binance announced it was leaving Russia and selling its business to the CommEX platform.

September 2023: Binance.US CEO resigns, workforce reduced

On September 12, 2023, Binance.US announced the resignation of CEO Brian Shroder and a reduction of the exchange’s workforce by around one-third, citing the SEC’s civil suit.

October 2023: Binance and Tether accused of terrorist funding

In October 2023, coinciding with the Gaza war, Binance and Tether were described as a source of terrorist funding by US senator Cynthia Lummis and US Representative French Hill, with a letter calling for the Department of Justice to crack down on the exchange.

November 2023: Guilty Plea in US Federal Court

In November 2023, Binance pleaded guilty in a US federal court to money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting, and sanctions violations.

November 2023: Conviction on Multiple Charges and Leadership Change

On 21 November 2023, a US judge convicted Binance on multiple charges including violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, money laundering schemes, unlicensed money transmitting, and sanctions violations. The company agreed to pay $4 billion in fines, and Changpeng Zhao stepped down as CEO with a $50 million fine. Richard Teng succeeded Zhao.

November 2023: Binance pleads guilty to federal charges, fined $4.3 billion

On November 21, 2023, Binance pleaded guilty to federal charges of money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting, and sanctions violations and was fined $4.3 billion. Zhao agreed to pay a $50 million fine and step down as CEO.

2023: Firing of Internal Investigation Team

According to a 2024 report in The Wall Street Journal covering 2023, Binance fired several members of its internal investigation team who were investigating market manipulation, such as pump and dump schemes.

2023: Forbes Leaks "TaiChi" Document

Later in 2023, Forbes leaked a document allegedly from Binance titled "TaiChi" that proposed a regulatory solution to reduce US regulatory risk. Binance denied the document, sued Forbes for defamation, and subsequently dropped the lawsuit.

January 2024: Binance sued by US victims of Hamas attack

On January 31, 2024, Binance was sued by US victims of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, as well as their families, in Manhattan federal court for allegedly facilitating Hamas's terrorist activities.

March 2024: Transfer of Binance Accounts to CommEX

Until March 2024, Binance accounts of Russian users were able to transfer to the new CommEX platform.

April 2024: Zhao sentenced to four months in prison

In April 2024, Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws.

May 2024: CommEX Shut Down

CommEX, the platform that acquired Binance's Russian business, shut down on 10 May 2024.

September 2024: Zhao released from prison

In September 2024, Zhao was released from prison.

2024: WSJ Report on Internal Investigation

According to a 2024 report in The Wall Street Journal, an internal investigation within Binance found that DWF Labs had advertised its ability to manipulate the market. Despite this, Binance retained DWF Labs as a client and said that the self trading could have been accidental. Binance has denied any wrongdoing.

March 2025: Talks with Trump Family Uncovered

In March 2025, the Wall Street Journal uncovered that Binance was in talks with the family of Donald Trump about business dealings.

August 2025: Trading Platform for Trump Family's World Liberty Financial

In August 2025, Wall Street Journal found that Binance was quietly administering a trading platform for the Trump family's World Liberty Financial.

October 2025: President Trump Pardons Changpeng Zhao

In October 2025, President Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao who had been convicted for enabling money laundering on Binance.

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