Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao reiterated that Binance is not a Chinese company and it “was never incorporated in China,” as the country continues to ban cryptocurrency trading.

See related article: Binance to help S. Korea’s Busan build first city-backed exchange

Fast facts

• In a blog post published on Thursday, Zhao wrote that the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume shares similar staff profiles as other major exchanges like FTX and Crypto.com, but “some people insist on calling us a ‘Chinese company,’ and in doing so, they don’t mean well.”

• Zhao, who was born in China and emigrated to Canada at the age of 12, said he launched Binance in China in July 2017 but had to move out of the nation after the Chinese government stated in September 2017 that crypto exchanges were not allowed to operate in the country.

• “The greatest challenge that Binance faces today is that we (and every other offshore exchange) have been designated a criminal entity in China,” Zhao wrote.

• Binance has set up subsidiaries in countries including France, Spain, Italy, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. “But we don’t have any legal entities in China, and we do not have plans to,” Zhao added.

• Binance has yet to announce the location of its global holding company.

See related article: Binance receives in-principal approval to operate in Kazakhstan