(Bloomberg) -- Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges by traded value, will soon allow customers to convert digital tokens into fiat currencies such as the euro, according to Chief Executive Officer Zhao Changpeng.
The venue will allow euro trading later this year from its Malta operations, Zhao said by phone on Monday. He plans to add other fiat currencies, he said, without providing details. Binance said in March it would set up a base in Malta.
Many of the most popular virtual currency venues only provide crypto-to-crypto trading, which is subject to less regulatory scrutiny but limits customers' ability to cash out. Offering a fiat currency would be a first for Binance as it looks to build on its rapid growth.
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Founded in July, Binance made a $150 million profit in the first quarter, with daily trading averaging between $1.4 billion and $1.5 billion, Zhao said. The company has 9 million users, he said, compared with more than 2 million at the start of the year.
Binance is expanding despite a sell-off that's sent Bitcoin down more than 50 percent this year. Cryptocurrencies lost $42 billion of market value over the weekend after a hack at a South Korean exchange.
Zhao said that Binance will soon receive an exchange license from Jersey in the Channel Islands, and plans to open an office there with as many as 100 staff. The company is also in talks with authorities and banks in Taiwan, he said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Cindy Wang in Taipei at hwang61@bloomberg.net;Benjamin Robertson in Hong Kong at brobertson29@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Mamudi at smamudi@bloomberg.net, Michael Patterson
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