The world’s second largest[1] crypto exchange, Binance[2], is backing plans to create a blockchain[3]-based bank with tokenized ownership, Bloomberg reports[4] today, July 12.
The future “Founders Bank” would be owned by digital token investors and be based in Malta[5], known for its robust and transparent[6] crypto regulatory climate.
According to Bloomberg, Binance has already invested in a 5 percent stake, along with other anchor investors, at a $155 million pre-money valuation.
The project seeks to become the world’s first decentralized, community-owned bank. The owners of the future bank will be issued with “legally-binding equity tokens” in return for their investment, via the blockchain-based equity fundraising platform Neufund[7].
As Bloomberg notes, before launching operations, the bank will need to seek a license from Maltese regulators, in accordance with EU financial laws.
Silvio Schembri, a junior minister within the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta, has reportedly said that the island “is honored to be chosen as the location of the first global community-owned bank.”
As Cointelegraph reported[8] last month, the Maltese parliament has just recently approved three distributed ledger technology (DLT) and crypto-related bills, consolidating the island’s bid to remain at the forefront of blockchain innovation.
Binance first announced[9] it was relocating its headquarters to Malta in March, last month revealing[10] that the exchange had already set up a bank account on the island.
Ahead of today’s revelations, Binance has recently made its first foray[11] into crypto-fiat trading, unveiling a new platform, Binance Uganda[12], which supports the Ugandan
