Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has pushed back on reports that he has been driving a proposal to establish a crypto-friendly private bank in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan, where he provides advisory services.
The rumors emerged after Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov told the Kabar news agency on Sunday that CZ had visited the country in May and suggested a cooperative effort to establish a private bank that also deals in cryptocurrency.
Japarov claims he would have preferred to open a state-owned bank, but when CZ rejected the idea, “we agreed to open a private bank,” instead, which resulted in Bereket Bank.
Changpeng Zhao denies he’s behind bank proposal
CZ, however, has refuted Japarov’s claims. In an X post on Monday, the former Binance CEO said he was not behind the proposal and has no interest in running a bank regardless.
“This isn’t correct. Not quite 4 FUD level, but still wrong. I never proposed creating a bank myself. While I support banks working with crypto generally, I have no interest in running one. I don’t recognize the name mentioned below. It’s not something I proposed.”
“I might have said something like I wish there to be as many digital banks supporting crypto as possible,” he added.
CZ does advisory work in Kyrgyzstan
Despite refuting claims that he is behind the private bank, CZ did reveal in April that he was advising the country on blockchain and crypto-related regulation and tech after signing a memorandum of understanding with Kyrgyzstan’s foreign investment agency.
Related: Kyrgyz officials outline strategy to make the country a regulated crypto haven
Since assuming the advisory role, he has helped spearhead several cryptocurrency initiatives in the country.
Kyrgyzstan rolled out a new stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the Kyrgyzstani som in October. CZ announced at the time the stablecoin would run on the BNB Chain and BNB (BNB) would also be included in the country’s crypto reserve if launched.
At the same time, CZ said Kyrgyzstan is integrating Binance’s education arm, Binance Academy, with 10 of its top universities and localizing the Binance app across the country.
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