TV report in China says Binance’s Shanghai “office” was actually a call center 🚨 This article is 4 years old...
TV report in China says Binance’s Shanghai “office” was actually a call center
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
According to Dovey Wan, a founding partner at Primitive Ventures, a local TV station in Shanghai reported that the “office” of Binance in Shanghai was a call center operated by Babi Finance.
??? thanks @DoveyWan
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) November 25, 2019
Wan said that Babi Finance is an investment made by Binance, which outsourced a customer representative team to the exchange.
Previously, CryptoSlate reported that Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, said he would sue crypto publication The Block for reporting that the Shanghai “office” of Binance was subject to a raid.
Community reacts
Binance Chief Marketing Officer Yi He said in a tweet that the publication “has been tricked” and that “it’s time to apologize to Binance for the false report.”
The block被耍了，是时候道歉了。
— Yi He (@heyibinance) November 25, 2019
Since the release of the report, Binance has denied that it had a Shanghai office in recent years and said that it has not been raided by the Shanghai police.
However, Matthew Graham, CEO of Sino Global Capital, said that Babi Finance has been shut down for some time, which would complicate the timing of when the “call center” existed.
Graham said in a Tweet:
“As I understand it though Babi Finance (website used to be http://babifinance.com) has been shut down for some time though. Last post from Babi official WeChat account was Nov. 2018 so likely around then. There’s a lot to unpack here.
Local sources have also said that the report of the Shanghai-based publication noted the office was operated by Babi Finance, a blockchain-related media company, and not directly by Binance.
Binance hasn't had an office in Shanghai for more than two years.
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) November 22, 2019
According to The Block Director of Research Larry Cermak, the local Shanghai publication said that Binance hired employees through Babi Finance and that it did not explicitly state that the office in question belonged to Babi.
Correct me if I’m wrong but the news said they visited the Binance Shanghai office in person and saw it’s closed. And that in the past few years, Binance hired people through Babi Finance. Not that the office itself belongs to Babi. How did you arrive at your interpretation?
— Larry Cermak (@lawmaster) November 25, 2019
The Block news director Frank Chapparo added:
Regardless of whether or not having centralized offices is “dumb,” Binance unequivocally had office presences in Shanghai.
– Huangpi South Road and Jianguo East Road in Shanghai
– Shanghai Ruique Cultural Development Company, Ltd: 3007 30th Fl, Gesei Center 757 Mengze Road— Frank Chaparro (@fintechfrank) November 25, 2019
No incentive, says Wan
In an interview with BLOCKTV, Wan emphasized that the Chinese police lack an incentive to target Binance and the office space in question.
“You have to understand the incentive of the Chinese police. Why Chinese police is incentivized to go after all these scams because they can confiscate all the money, so it’s usually a gigantic amount of money. They can confiscate, which means the money will belong to the police. So that actually is their performance and they can pay themselves high bonuses.”
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In this article
BNB, or Binance Coin, is a cryptocurrency created by Binance.
Binance
Binance is a global cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as “CZ,” is a notable figure in the cryptocurrency world, primarily for founding and leading Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.
Dovey Wan, as the Managing Director of DHVC, has established herself as a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.
