Binance Plans To Acquire Brazilian Securities Brokerage

Binance, the global leader in cryptocurrency and blockchain platform, is relentless with its potential for growth.

With the goal of further developing and expanding Brazil’s cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem, the crypto exchange giant has inked a Memorandum of Understanding to explore and possibly acquire Sim;paul Investimentos, a Brazilian securities brokerage firm. 

The transaction is authorized by Brazilian Regulators and the Central Bank of Brazil and the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM). The firm, however, did not disclose the timeframe for the acquisition.

Binance founder and Chief Executive Officer Changpeng Zhao said:

“In a fast-developing market like Brazil, crypto can transform and facilitate people’s lives and as such we believe – in full collaboration with local authorities – that Binance has a lot to contribute in developing the community and ecosystem in Brazil.”

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Easing restrictions

Previously, Binance has faced regulatory scrutiny in Brazil. 

This discord came after the platform suspended futures market services on its Brazilian website last year, since the central bank does not yet consider virtual currencies as a financial asset. 

Later on, an alert from the CVM reported Binance Futures as one of three entities that were not registered to operate in the Brazilian securities market at the time. 

BTC total market cap at $768.65 billion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

The products and services on offer “display a worrying disregard for compliance with the Brazilian rules” and place investors and the credibility of regulators at risk, said Rodrigo Monteiro, executive director of the ABCripto association, which signed the complaint.

In a statement, Binance said it is the target of “unfounded and incorrect” accusations and that the claims in the complaint “are anti-competitive in nature.”

Binance Expands

As Binance tries to mend its links with the South American country, it is now aiming at launching expansion policies in new and traditional markets and sectors to keep growing its business in the future, explained Zhao in an interview with the Financial Times. 

“We want to identify and invest in one or two targets in every economic sector and try to bring them into crypto,” added Zhao.

Launched in 2019, Sim;paul is a relatively new securities brokerage firm that received central bank approval in October 2020 and launched services in December 2020. It is located in Porto Alegre, Brazil. 

Last month, the exchange revealed that it invested a total of $200 million in Forbes, the international media company, with the aim of pushing for the digital offers of the company.

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Featured image from Persia Digest, chart from TradingView.com