Binance CEO Richard Teng: The West Will Still Dominate Finance

Key Points:

• Binance CEO Richard Teng stated that Western companies will benefit most due to regulatory influence.
• Digital wallet spending in Asia-Pacific is expected to reach $9.8 trillion by 2023, with rapid growth fueled by regulatory caution.

In recent comments during the recent Insights Forum in Singapore, Binance CEO Richard Teng claimed that the region played an important role in the growing financial systems, but added that most of the benefit is likely to come to companies in the West, who have enormous influence over the world’s regulatory frameworks.

Read more: Binance CEO Richard Teng Sees Potential Growth of the Crypto Industry in 2024

Binance CEO Richard Teng Calls Out for Fair Play as Western Firms Dominate Financial Growth

Binance CEO Richard Teng called for fair competition and asked policymakers to let the local players be able to compete and experiment on a broader scale.

The event also discussed rapid digital wallets expansion across the APAC. Per a Deloitte report, spending via digital wallets in Asia-Pacific will reach as much as $9.8 trillion by the end of 2023. That will account for nearly two-thirds of global digital wallet usage.

Vincent Iswara, the chief executive of Indonesian digital wallet company Dana, once described the different landscapes for Asian payments as a no-man’s-land-a “wild west” without consistent standards. He said one factor that has fed the proliferation of mobile wallets and digital banking is a cautious approach from regional regulators, promoting innovation and market diversity.

Stablecoins Offer Stability in Economies with Volatile Currencies

According to Coda Payments’ Global CFO, Jessie Toh, mobile phones support financial inclusion in most parts of Asia. She has said that stablecoins have now started to achieve traction in economies with volatile currencies as one more way for users to hedge against inflation and currency devaluation.

Teng said stablecoins have gained favor outside the United States because young people in poor countries use the currency as a means to protect their assets and make cheap transfers. According to him, over time, the reliance on the U.S.-dominated financial system will slowly, gradually change.