Key Highlights
- Binance views India as a crucial market due to its young, tech-savvy population and fast-growing Web3 ecosystem.
- CEO Richard Teng calls for stronger regulatory support, including stablecoins, crypto payments, and banking access, to help India unlock its full crypto potential.
- Despite the volatile crypto market in 2025, Binance remains committed to long-term growth and building a sustainable industry for the future.
As the crypto market tries to bounce back from a rough year, Binance CEO Richard Teng says he still believes the future of the industry looks strong.
In a conversation with Moneycontrol during Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai, Teng said Binance has grown fast, from about 170 million users at the start of 2024 to over 300 million today.
With Co-Founder Yi He recently appointed Co-CEO, he called it a natural move for a leader who has shaped Binance’s product direction and culture since day one.
Weathering a turbulent crypto year
The year 2025 brought dramatic swings—Bitcoin (BTC) soared past $100,000 before a steep crash in October that forced shutdowns of several Digital Asset Treasury firms. But Teng believes the broader picture remains optimistic: “If you look at Bitcoin, it started in 2024 at around $40,000. Even at today’s rate, it has more than doubled.”
He noted that stablecoins, crypto payments, institutional investments, and real-world asset tokenization have all accelerated significantly.
He also pointed to a major shift in global policy sentiment. “The US has gone from anti-crypto to now wanting to be the crypto capital of the world,” Teng said, adding that nations must reposition quickly to avoid losing technological advantage in the next financial era.
India’s untapped potential makes it a priority
Teng said India remains central to Binance’s growth plans, driven by a young, tech-forward population—about 70% of the country is under 35—that is quick to adopt new digital tools.
He added that India’s importance goes beyond being a market with millions of users. It is also home to talented developers, ambitious founders, creative entrepreneurs, and a strong Web3 community that is already building for the future. With that kind of energy and innovation, Teng believes India can rise as a major Web3 hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
Binance is registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in India, and the exchange continues dialogues with government bodies. However, Teng hopes regulators will widen support to include stablecoins, payments, and banking access: “We do hope that there will be more embracement by the policymakers, the regulators, on the different aspects of crypto.”
Compliance, CBDCs and regulatory path ahead
On tax scrutiny around offshore wallets in India, Teng avoided specifics but reiterated Binance’s cooperation with global authorities: “We want to make sure that we respect all the policies of the country, and work hand-in-hand to uphold standards, AML requirements, sanctions requirements.”
He welcomed India’s work on the digital rupee through RBI’s CBDC pilot. According to Teng, government-led experimentation helps deepen blockchain understanding and ultimately benefits the overall ecosystem. “The very fact that the RBI is experimenting with CBDCs… the more they understand the better it is,” he said.
A long-term bet on crypto’s future
Teng closed with a message of perseverance and confidence: Binance is building for decades ahead, not quarterly market cycles. “We are long-term builders,” he said. “We want to build a sustainable industry and a sustainable company going into the future.”
Also Read: Crypto Goes Mainstream in 2025, Says CoinSwitch Co-founder at IBW
