Binance founder Zhao Changpeng. Photo: Bloomberg

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has announced plans to set up an office in Malta. The company’s founder Zhao Changpeng confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg that the Hong-Kong based company will start a fiat currency to cryptocurrency exchange in Malta and is close to securing a deal with local banks that can provide access to deposits and withdrawals, he said.

“We are very confident we can announce a banking partnership there soon,” Zhao said. “Malta is very progressive when it comes to crypto and fintech.”

Binance was the world’s top-ranked exchange by volume for the past 24 hours, according to Coinmarketcap.com, trading about $1.7 billion.

Welcome to #Malta ???????? @binance. We aim to be the global trailblazers in the regulation of blockchain-based businesses and the jurisdiction of quality and choice for world class fintech companies -JM @SilvioSchembri https://t.co/3qtAQjOpuQ — Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM) March 23, 2018

The announcement was welcomed by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who said Malta aims to be the global trailblazers in regulating blockchain-based businesses and the jurisdiction of choice for finch companies.

Binance’s announcement comes a month after the Maltese government laid out its plans to become the first country in the world to fully regulate companies which operate on blockchain – the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies. One of the three bills in the pipeline is a Virtual Currency Bill that will provide a legal framework for initial coin offerings and regulate crypto wallet providers, cryptocurrency exchanges and asset managers.

Zhao told Bloomberg that he had recently been invited by the Maltese government to review this upcoming bill that was favorable to crypto businesses.

He said he had been prompted to relocate from Japan to avoid clashing with local regulators. Japan’s Financial Services Agency issued a warning to the venue on Friday for operating without approval.

Binance is also facing problems with its office in Hong Kong, after it and six other crypto exchanges recently received a letter from the Securities and Futures Commission warning them not to trade digital assets defined as securities under Hong Kong law.

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