Changpeng Zhao, CEO of the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance, stated his company expects a net profit ranging from $500 mln to $1 bln by the end of 2018. Currently, the platform which is solely one year old has 10 mln users and a daily turnover of roughly $1.5 bln, Bloomberg reports.
These statements follow almost immediately after Binance published a report explaining that it shut down all the trading on the platform due to suspicious hacker-like activity. It decided to take additional measures and remove “all existing API keys and requested all API users to recreate their API keys.”
Zhao went on to reveal that during the first half revenue his platform made close to $300 mln net profit. Bloomberg has rightly noted that “Zhao’s figures illustrate how some cryptocurrency exchanges are thriving despite a rout in digital assets that’s seen Bitcoin lose 52 percent of its value this year as buyers pull back, venues are repeatedly hacked and regulators increase their scrutiny.”
Indeed, multiple hacking incidents related to Bithumb, Bitgrail, Coincheck as well as radical loss of Bitcoin value has put off many crypto enthusiasts. Yet Binance remains largely unaffected and continues to expand its presence on several markets and will soon enter Uganda, Bermuda and Malta allowing its customers “to convert their virtual tokens to fiat currencies including the euro, as it looks to build on its rapid growth.” Binance has previously added fiat support.
Its success story is undoubtedly striking. To remind: at the beginning of the year it had solely 2 mln users, which means its client base has seen a five-fold increase. Zhao started his business back in July 2017 after raising $15 during ICO. Currently, it is the largest exchange present on the market and is more profitable than the biggest bank of Germany.
