Binance.US funding round targets $1 billion valuation

Binance.US is seeking to raise as much as $100 million at a valuation of about $1 billion, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The Binance.US funding round would price the exchange far below the $4.5 billion pre-money valuation it secured in 2022. The company is trying to win back customers it lost after its parent's 2023 settlement with U.S. authorities.

What happened

Bloomberg's report said World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture co-founded by President Donald Trump, was among those told about the raise but is not participating. The size, valuation and investor makeup could still change as the process continues, and spokespeople for Binance.US and World Liberty declined to comment.

Launched in 2019, Binance.US operates separately from the global exchange, although co-founder Changpeng Zhao is a large shareholder in both. Bloomberg said the company has discussed tapping outside sources of trading liquidity, potentially including Binance's international exchange, but has not decided on an approach. It is also looking to restore some of its state money-transmitting licenses.

Cointelegraph noted that Binance Holdings agreed in 2023 to pay $4.3 billion in penalties and accept added monitoring, while Zhao pleaded guilty to a felony charge and served four months in prison before a 2025 pardon. The Treasury Department billed its part of that Binance resolution as the largest settlements in its history with a virtual currency exchange.

Why it matters

The valuation gap tells the story of the past four years. A Binance.US funding round at roughly $1 billion would be worth less than a quarter of the 2022 pre-money mark, a measure of how much market share the exchange surrendered after the settlement.

The capital would arrive as the U.S. backdrop turns friendlier, with established exchanges adding products and offshore rivals seeking a bigger presence in the country, Bloomberg said. Binance.US has also explored new lines such as prediction markets, a corner of the market that is already crowded with well-funded venues.

Politics remain a sensitive layer. World Liberty already has ties to the global Binance exchange, which holds the lion's share of its USD1 stablecoin, according to Arkham data cited by Bloomberg. That link keeps a political lens on any deal involving the Binance family of companies.

The stablecoin has a history with Binance itself. Bloomberg said USD1 was used by an investment firm tied to leaders of the United Arab Emirates to fund its purchase of a $2 billion stake in Binance, a deal Cointelegraph described as controversial. Any new investor in the U.S. arm will be weighed against that backdrop.

What's next

Watch for named investors, a final valuation and any state license approvals, which would signal whether the U.S. arm can rebuild its regulatory footprint. A liquidity link with the international exchange would be the most consequential step, and the one most likely to draw questions from regulators.

The pitch to investors is a cheaper entry into a brand that once ranked among the largest U.S. venues. The risk is that rivals have used the past three years to lock in customers, banking partners and new product lines that Binance.US must now match while it rebuilds.

The global group has kept expanding, from its AI assistant rollout to the reverse-solicitation practices now under EU review. If the Binance.US funding round closes near the reported terms, it would give the U.S. arm fresh capital to compete, but at a valuation that resets expectations sharply lower.