Binance Founder Accuses Former Executive of Blocking Philippine Expansion Efforts

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has made serious accusations against former executive Wei Zhou in his recently published memoir. According to CZ, Zhou intentionally blocked Binance's expansion efforts in the Philippines by lobbying against their integration into the local crypto ecosystem.

CZ claims that during his trip to the Philippines in June 2022, he met with representatives from the Philippine Stock Exchange and a pro-crypto governor, but received information about deliberate gatekeeping efforts orchestrated by Zhou. He alleged that Zhou sent a letter to the Fintech Alliance, attempting to prevent Binance from joining.

However, Wei Zhou has firmly denied CZ's claims, providing evidence in the form of a document titled 'Clarificatory letter to Lito Villanueva.' The letter was addressed to the Chairman of Fintech Alliance.ph and expressed dismay over a partnership between the Alliance and Binance regarding blockchain education. Zhou questioned why the Alliance chose to partner with an unregistered VASP, citing regulatory red flags.