Binance user base surges to 150 million, CZ says — despite US regulatory lawsuits

Crypto exchange Binance has surpassed 150 million registered users, according to co-founder and CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao — despite facing an ongoing legal battle with the United States regulators. The milestone comes with Binance's re-entry in Japan and a license in Dubai earlier this week, Zhao tweeted.

In May, Binance's user base was 128 million — meaning the crypto exchange has gained 22 million users in just three months, despite ongoing global regulatory scrutiny. 

Binance and Zhao were sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in March for allegedly operating an "illegal" exchange and a "sham" compliance program. Subsequently, in July, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance, Zhao and Binance.US for allegedly breaking U.S. securities laws. The U.S. Department of Justice is also reportedly considering fraud charges against Binance but is worried it could cause a run on the exchange and hurt users.

Elsewhere, France is also reportedly investigating Binance because of alleged money laundering. In recent weeks and months, Binance has also exited the Netherlands, deregistered entities in Cyprus and the U.K., withdrawn its license application in Austria and was ordered to stop operating in Belgium.

Yet, Binance's market share keeps growing. It remains the world's largest crypto exchange, with nearly 65% market share in spot trading volumes today, according to The Block's Data Dashboard.

Zhao remains committed to "keep building." Last month, he said Binance is doing “a lot of preparation” to ready its systems for higher crypto trading volumes over the next six to 18 months. Zhao expects a volume surge based on historical patterns and events, including the upcoming Bitcoin halving next year.

Binance did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for comment on the new user base milestone.