Binance’s CZ Backs Mutual Recognition of Crypto Licenses Across ASEAN

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, endorsed mutual recognition of crypto licenses across Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states. Under the proposal, a company licensed in one member country would not have to repeat the full approval process from scratch in another.

Cointelegraph reported on July 28 that Zhao made the remarks during the “One ASEAN, One Digital Economy” session at the ASEAN Tech Summit 2026 in Manila.

At the event, Fintech Alliance PH founding chairman Lito Villanueva proposed the idea of mutual license recognition. Zhao responded that it was reasonable for regulators to review applicants, but they should not require companies to go through the entire licensing process again from the beginning.

“This issue is not technical. It is mostly political,” Zhao said. More licensed platforms competing in the market would improve service quality and lower costs for consumers, he added.

ASEAN member states currently regulate digital assets separately, forcing companies seeking to expand across the region to secure approvals country by country. Zhao argued that a common regional licensing framework would lower compliance costs and help accelerate the spread of crypto and stablecoin services across the bloc.

ASEAN does not yet have a common regional licensing system for crypto, though similar precedents exist in finance. The ASEAN Capital Markets Forum allows funds approved in one jurisdiction to be sold in participating markets through a simplified process under its collective investment scheme framework. It also operates the ACMF Pass, which speeds registration procedures for investment advisers in other countries. In the European Union, crypto-asset service providers authorized in one member state already have passporting rights under the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, or MiCA, allowing them to offer services across the bloc.