Binance Buys Wallet in First Public Acquisition

Binance, one of the world’s most popular crypto-to-crypto exchanges, has acquired the mobile wallet operator Trust Wallet, the exchange announced.

Although the exact details of the deal remain undisclosed, Binance confirmed to TechCrunch that Trust Wallet received payment in a combination of cash, Binance stock, and the company’s own BNB token.

Trust Wallet is a relatively unknown US-based Ethereum wallet with support for tokens built on the Ethereum platform. The app had around 50,000 downloads on Google Play Store as of press time, with an average rating from users of 4.6 out of 5.

Trust Wallet previously announced an initial coin offering (ICO) that would raise funds for its operations, but decided to scrap the plans last month due to “serious sacrifices” and an unclear regulatory framework, according to a statement put out by the company on Medium.

The wallet will reportedly remain independent following the acquisition, with Binance aiming to assist only on the administrative and marketing side of the business.

“They haven’t done much marketing which is where we can help. They are strong technically, but don’t like doing marketing, HR [Human Resources], etc. Now merging with us they don’t have to worry about money,” Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said in a comment to TechCrunch, adding that “[Binance] users who like to withdraw funds into a wallet now have a product they can use.”

Binance, which is now based out of Malta, reported profits of between USD 450 and USD 500 million between July 2017 and 2018, turning its founder Changpeng Zhao into a billionaire in less than a year of operations.