By As reported by Coinbeat a week ago, the world’s largest exchange by trading volume, Binance is set to undergo a number of major upgrades and expansions this month. With the launch of the Binance DEX, a fiat-to-crypto exchange in Singapore and the upgrades to the Binance Trust Wallet, it seems CEO Changpeng Zhao has got a lot on his plate.
By the end of this month, Binance expects to have launched two completely new platforms, the aforementioned Binance DEX, a decentralized exchange which is powered by the exchanges blockchain, and a fiat-to-crypto exchange in the Asian economic hub that is Singapore, which forms the latest locale in Zhao’s ambitious goal of building a fiat-to-crypto gateway on every continent.
Also expected, albeit by June, is the eagerly awaited staking functionality upgrade to be implemented on the Binance Trust Wallet. This will allow users with specific Proof-Of-Stake cryptocurrencies to receive rewards and benefits for their support of the network.
Binance DEX Launch:
As reported by Coinbeat last week, the testnet for the highly-anticipated DEX has been up and running since February, with a variety of community initiatives to bolster activity, including a trading competition, a coding contest as well as a bug bounty program to fully put the platform to the test.
Now that the testing phase is complete, with the Binance Coin (BNB) benefiting from a recent price spike, the exchange is ready to launch with many hoping that Binance’s desire for accelerated growth will assist in a more decentralized trading ecosystem gain traction.
However, Binance’s DEX has not been met without some controversy surrounding the extent of its centralization, Zhao stated:
“Technically, it’s a fully decentralized exchange architecture. Technical-wise, I don’t think there’s anything that’s centralized about it. Some guys are really bent out of shape about us calling it a DEX, and I think those guys will probably continue to be bent out of shape. Because I think their definition of a DEX may be different from ours, which is fine”
According to critics and naysayers, the DEX could be better described as non-custodial, because despite being allegedly centralized, it does allow for users to implement their own software and hardware wallets or alternatively make use of the Binance Trust Wallet, which as mentioned above is also undergoing developmental upgrades.
Binance Trust Wallet Upgrade:
Binance’s official wallet service, the Binance Trust Wallet is undergoing preparations for a new staking feature, which is set for implementation by the end of the second quarter for its first cryptocurrency, the multi-purpose Tezos blockchain (XTZ).
This comes hot on the heels of the launch of Tezos Staking or baking as it’s officially been dubbed, a service by Coinbase Custody which announced that it would be offering this to investors back in March.
Despite being aimed at completely different markets, both staking services will give Tezos users the ability to vote on changes to the blockchain and receive rewards for the validation of transactions. Coinbase and Binance are also reportedly set to expand upon this service by offering more tokens.
Singapore Fiat-To-Crypto Expansion:
As Binance’s infrastructure develops, the company continues on its quest of global expansion with Singapore being next in line to receive a fiat to crypto exchange.
Binance Singapore will mark the third fiat-to-crypto exchange being created by the platform, joining the ranks of Binance Jersey which was launched in January and Binance Uganda which was launched last October.
Singapore is home to Ethereum as well as a number of exiled Chinese crypto companies, the nation has cemented itself as Southeast Asia’s crypto hub. This is in part, due to the nation’s friendly regulatory stance.
Zhao stated at the recent Deconomy forum:
“In Asia, Japan has made the most clear regulations, and Singapore’s regulators are following Japan. And it’s not only in Asia, but also in Europe, Africa and the United States.”
Despite minimal details being released in the official statement, Binance did through a Medium post reveal late last year, that Singapore could very well form a base for the exchange’s further expansion into Southeast Asia.
From a global perspective, it’s unclear as to where Binance could head to next. However countries which are on the exchange’s radar include Argentina, as hinted at from a Tweet made by Binance and South Korea, but the complex regulatory environment here could prove to be a hurdle.
Binance seems to be aiming for nations where regulations are not lagging behind with Zhao stating at Deconomy: “we prefer countries with clear regulations, this is because we want to do long-term business”
Comments