The action coincides with attempts to protect Binance’s activities in France, the second-largest EU economy, where laws requiring the majority shareholder of a firm to have no criminal record mandate Previously owning 100% of Binance France, Zhao admitted in November to breaking US financial regulations.

Complying with French rules, Yulong Yan and Lihua He, each with a half-interest, are the new Binance France shareholders. Familiar with the bitcoin scene, Yan, sometimes known as Allan Yan, has been connected to the founding team of Binance and was the was the past co-founder and product director of Bijie Tech, a now-closed Chinese exchange services company.

Conversely, his background is less clear; the original Binance whitepaper from 2017 makes no reference to him. Binance refused to divulge more information about this shareholder, including if Zhao got paid for giving his shares back.

Ownership Change Reflects Binance’s New Compliance Strategy

The shareholder rearrangement shows more general attempts by Binance to move past the Zhao era, which resulted in legal consequences for the business and its former CEO last year. After entering a guilty plea for aiding in illegal trade, Binance paid a hefty fine and promised to put strict anti-money laundering policies into effect under new leadership.

Former Singapore Central Bank regulator Richard Teng took over as CEO in late 2023. According to a recent business blog post, the ownership change fits Binance’s bigger “global restructuring project” under progress this year.

Binance France has responded to regulatory demands by trying to fit the regulatory scene, especially in view of the Markets in Crypto-Assets rule (MiCA). With consequences for licensing and operating systems, MiCA is poised to present thorough regulatory rules for digital asset service providers all throughout the EU.

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