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CZ Denies He Owns CommEX, Binance Russia's New Owner

Binance’s CEO sought to quell speculation about the mysterious, day-old, crypto company found as part of a hasty Russian exit

Updated Sep 28, 2023, 9:07 a.m. Published Sep 28, 2023, 9:07 a.m.
CZ aka Changpeng Zhao CEO of Binance at Consensus Singapore 2018 (CoinDesk)
CZ aka Changpeng Zhao CEO of Binance at Consensus Singapore 2018 (CoinDesk)

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao on Thursday denied that he is the owner of CommEX, the mysterious company that has bought Binance’s business in Russia.

Binance, of which CZ is founder and chief executive officer, this week announced it was quitting Russia after reports of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into sanctions violations.

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That led to questions around the identity of CommEX – a company with similar user look and feel to Binance, and which appears to just be a few days old.

“I am not their UBO [ultimate beneficial owner], nor do I own any shares there,” CZ said of CommEx in a post on X, formerly Twitter, adding that a few former Binance staff from the region have gone to work for CommEX, or may do so in future.

Historic transactions between the two companies related to the “testing phase” of integration, and Binance had asked for CommEX to have a similar design and technical features to smooth the transition, CZ added.

In its Wednesday press release, Binance confirmed it had no revenue split or option to buy back shares from the new company, and that it was “fully” exiting Russia with a transition period of a few months.

Read more: Binance Sells Russian Unit to Day-Old CommEX, Exits Country

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Protocol Research: GoPlus Security

GP Basic Image

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  • As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
  • GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
  • Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.

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The UK’s crypto rulebook is finally taking shape

Big Ben in the UK (Heidi Fin/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk)

A long-awaited crypto regime in the U.K. is moving from theory to execution, even if firms must wait until 2027 for full clarity.

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  • The U.K. has entered the decisive phase of building a full crypto licensing regime set to go live in October 2027.
  • The FCA is adapting existing financial services rules to crypto while introducing bespoke market integrity measures.
  • Stablecoins, DeFi and cross-border reach remain the most consequential — and unresolved — pressure points.