This article comes fromThis article comes from, by Joshua Oliver & Philip Stafford & Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan

Odaily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tang

Odaily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tang

Binance is planning an acquisition spree to enter new markets. Meanwhile, its sprawling digital asset trading platform is under constant scrutiny from regulators.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said in an interview that, as one of the largest companies in the digital asset industry, Binance is looking to acquire the U.S. business publication Forbes after making a $200 million strategic investment earlier this year. Businesses that operate in traditional markets.

“We want to identify and invest in one or two targets in each economic sector and try to introduce them into the crypto space,” Zhao said. Pushing one company in an industry such as media to embrace crypto would increase competition and prompt other existing groups to follow suit, he added.

The acquisition comes as Binance's core trading business has come under fire from a string of regulatory criticisms. According to Changpeng Zhao, about 90% of Binance’s total revenue comes from transaction fees, which fluctuate with the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Binance, registered in the Cayman Islands, is a major player in the crypto trading space. According to the latest data from CryptoCompare, Binance topped the list with just over $500 billion in spot crypto trading volume in January, nearly four times that of the second-placed crypto trader. Its $1.5 trillion notional crypto derivatives volume is more than double that of the second-placed competitor.

Last year, regulators around the world issued warnings about the risks to consumers trading on Binance. They also raised concerns about the organization's procedures to prevent money laundering.

Changpeng Zhao said the company is hiring dozens of compliance and enforcement professionals and using the same customer-checking software used by banks' compliance departments. The exchange currently has 70 staff in the UK, many of whom are focused on regulatory issues, he added.However, Binance has repeatedly run afoul of the UK regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA said in mid-February that it was critical of an agreement between Binance and payments provider Paysafe.feel "worried"

, the agreement aims to allow Binance to regain access to a large UK payments network. The exchange was cut off from the payment system last summer.

This week, the FCA also issued a new warning against Binance’s “complex and high-risk financial products.” Binance recently extended a $36 million convertible loan to cryptocurrency firm Econex, which is likely to become the beneficial owner of DigiVault, a subsidiary of Econex. In this regard, the FCA official website issued an announcement saying: "Binance Markets Limited is currently not allowed to engage in any regulated activities without the written consent of the FCA. Binance Group provides complex and high-risk financial products, which pose a significant risk to consumers. If If the FCA considers that the contract is inappropriate, the FCA can take steps to suspend or cancel the registration of its encrypted asset business. The FCA also has the power to suspend or cancel the company's encrypted asset registration for a variety of reasons, including the company's failure to comply with its obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations .”Binance had tried to enter the FCA's list of approved digital asset companies through a London-based affiliate, but withdrew its application last year because the FCA required"Full Disclosure"

And submit hundreds of pages of documents related to anti-money laundering controls. The FCA later said that Binance’s UK subsidiary had failed to respond to some of its basic inquiries.

The words are divided into two ends. Binance’s announcement to enter the traditional field this time may expand its commercial interests. As part of this strategy, Binance invested $200 million in Forbes and gained two board seats. According to Changpeng Zhao, Binance will now target other industries such as retail, e-commerce and gaming.

Despite entering new business areas, Changpeng Zhao said he was not trying to turn Binance into a "conglomerate." Instead, he believes the company is building the infrastructure to integrate digital assets into existing industries.