- Binance has made its first strategic investment in China
- This comes after the company exited the country in 2017 following a ban on crypto trading
As one of the biggest and most prominent firms within the crypto space, Binance has had a busy 2019 that has seen it launch various development such as their decentralized exchanged as well as launching Binance.US. Even with these, Binance has continued to expand its efforts into new regions and one of the most prominent to come appears to be China even as the country is seemingly softening its stance towards cryptocurrency.
Because of this, Binance holdings Limited has made its first strategic investment within the Chinese region as reported on September 17, 2019, via a funding round of a crypto data company
Holding Ground in China
The investment in question is in Mars Finance which brings the company to a post-money valuation of $200 million after a funding round that was also supported by Ceyuan Ventures and Matrixport. It should be noted that Binance had a presence within the Chinese market a few years ago but withdrew in 2017 after digital currency trading was banned by the government. Changpeng Zhao has stated that Mars Finance has expanded its influence within the country since it is initial inception and this makes it a viable investment for the company.
Mars Finance was first founded in 2018 by Wang Feng who is a local Chinese investor and has positioned himself within the country’s business sector. This is not the firm’s first funding round as it has previously completed two with support from IDG Capital as well as the investment arms of Huobi and OKCoin. Wang has also been active in the business space as he founded LineKong Interactive Group Co. in 2007 and the company eventually went public within Hong Kong in 2014.
Despite the previous hostile nature of the Chinese government towards all things cryptocurrency, there have been rumors that the country is developing its digital currency that will be used by the citizens even after banning all others within the country. Despite the ban, citizens have continued to trade in cryptocurrencies using virtual private networks and there is also a healthy crypto mining industry within China. This has created an environment where crypto businesses can grow, thrive and operate and if the rumors are true and China’s digital token launches next year, only more progress will be made.
