Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, announced plans to help make America a global crypto hub. CZ shared his thoughts on the United States market during a private press conference at Binance Blockchain Week, which took place at the Coca Cola Arena in Dubai Dec. 3-4.

When asked by a member of the media about his involvement in the US following President Trump’s pardon, CZ explained that he is “very appreciative of the pardon from Trump,” noting that this allows Binance to conduct business more “freely” in every part of the world – America included.

“It’s my full intention to help make America the capital of crypto,” CZ stated. “Also, America is an emerging land for Binance. For the last few years we have been dealing with the Biden administration so much that we have tried to withdraw from the US as much as possible. We didn’t invest in the US and we tried to pull out. But now I fully intend to help crypto businesses in the US.”

The United States Becomes Strategic Market For Binance

CZ added that Binance US – which was launched in September 2019 to legally service US residents – still exists, yet it remains a small business.

He explained that in 2023 the SEC sued Binance US, causing the business to lose all banking access and a few state licenses. However, CZ now views the US as “a very important market” and a leading region in terms of tech talent. However, he believes that leaders in the blockchain industry still reside outside of the United States.

“Large businesses like Binance and a few other large players are not technically in the US, so I do want to help bring many of those businesses back into the region,” he said “Also, many institutional investors do not have access or exposure to BNB, so we want to help with that.”

CZ Says US Has Clear Crypto Regulations

Cryptonews further asked CZ about challenges holding back crypto adoption globally and how Binance aims to combat this moving forward.

CZ mentioned that first and foremost regulatory frameworks have to become clarified in many parts of the world. To enable this, he explained his involvement with more than a dozen different countries on ways to develop and implement regulations.

CZ added that currently only a handful of countries have clear regulations around digital assets, yet pointed out that the US is leading the way.

“Now the US is leading – which is good, but the US is only just starting. Trump has only been in power for a year,” he stated.

CZ further remarked that progress has been made with the recent passing of the GENIUS Act, which establishes clear rules around stablecoins. He added that the CLARITY Act, which aims to define digital assets, remains a work in progress.

“Also the first draft of regulations will not be perfect – it takes time to evolve. After this, the banks will need to work closely with crypto businesses. We need to integrate with existing financial systems to enable mainstream adoption, as that’s the best way for growth,” CZ remarked.

CZ Speaks Out About Prison Time

In addition to sharing his thoughts on the importance of the US market for crypto expansion, CZ described his time in prison. The executive was sentenced to four months in a US prison in April 2024 after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws.

“I went through a lot of challenges – I went to jail, etc. but I know that no one got hurt,” CZ stated. “There was no fraud, there were no users that got hurt because of my actions, so when I sleep at night I sleep very well because I know I am helping a lot of people.”

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Cryptocurrency is no longer just for adults. While traditional financial assets like stocks and bonds are often gifted to children by parents who open custodial accounts, crypto exchange Binance aims to help families build wealth through crypto assets.

Announced on Wednesday during Binance Blockchain Week, the crypto exchange explained that “Binance Junior” is the first standalone mobile app that is controlled entirely by parents for children.

The app allows adults with a Binance account to deposit crypto into a savings account for kids and teenagers between the ages of 6 to 17. The tool also allows parents to set spending and transfer limits, while enabling earn products for kids dependent on local regulations.

The Importance of Crypto Adoption at Young Ages

Binance’s newly appointed co-founder Yi He explained the importance behind Binance Junior at Binance Blockchain Week.

“We not only nurture children in their early development, but also with long-term growth, responsibility and wisdom,” the executive stated. “Helping children face real life challenges independently means that financial health and literacy are key to preparing them for the future, especially as money is evolving.”

While the notion of educating children on the importance of cryptocurrency may be controversial, findings from a recent survey conducted by Gemini show that more than half (51%) of global Gen Z respondents currently own cryptocurrency or have owned it in the past. The report also notes that over half of Gen Z respondents located in the US owned or had owned cryptocurrency (51%), compared to 49% of Millennials (people born 1981-1994).

This demonstrates the growing appeal for crypto adoption amongst younger generations. Binance Junior aims to further facilitate this by allowing children 13 years and up to initiate transfers independently within the app, as long as local regulations are met and daily limits are applied.

Teaching Children About Crypto: Beneficial or Concerning?

While some users on the social media platform X expressed concerns around Binance Junior, the new app aims to align with a growing trend of teaching children about the importance of cryptocurrency at early ages.

Henri Arslanian, co-founder of Nine Blocks Capital and a best-selling author, told Cryptonews that it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Binance has launched Binance Junior.

“Children used to have penny banks to keep fiat in, but now we have hard assets like Bitcoin and there is a huge learning element there that becomes critical,” he said.

Arslanian added that Binance Junior aligns with children’s books and toys centered around cryptocurrency. In September last year, Arslanian published Decoding Crypto, a best-selling children’s book that explains digital assets in simple terms.

Other books including B is for Bitcoin by Graeme Moore – which is an A-to-Z style alphabet book where each letter links to a crypto term – also aim to make crypto learning fun for children. Goodnight Crypto by Scott Blair is a book that is even suitable for toddlers. Included in the story are 42 collectible non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that can be minted and added to a crypto wallet.

In addition, Binance released a self-published book entitled ABC’s of Crypto that breaks down fundamental terms including security and blockchain technology, to different types of crypto coins.

Cautiously Preparing the Next Generation for Crypto Adoption

While it’s notable that initiatives are being taken to teach young children about digital assets, caution should be exercised.

Parents and teachers explaining cryptocurrency to younger generations may wish to point out the volatile nature of digital assets. Focusing on concepts like savings, diversification, long-term thinking, and risk versus reward rather than price speculation may also be helpful.

The post Binance Takes Family-Centric Approach to Crypto with Junior Wallet appeared first on Cryptonews.

What began as a niche innovation within crypto markets is now shaping the future of payments. From major U.S. institutions to global players, banks are recognizing that stablecoins—blockchain-based tokens pegged to fiat currency—offer efficiency gains that legacy systems can’t match.

The GENIUS Act in the United States and the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation in Europe have further accelerated this trend. These regulatory frameworks define stablecoins and outline who may issue them, including insured depository institutions like banks and credit unions, as well as qualified nonbanks.

Why Banks Are Exploring Stablecoin Adoption in 2025

“Payments are a huge part of banks’ business,” said Paul Brody, global blockchain lead at EY, in an interview with Cryptonews.

“Now that banks are authorized to enter the market, they can serve the consumer and enterprise users that are looking for much lower costs on their payments, especially cross-border payments,” Brody added.

According to EY’s survey of over 250 financial services companies, reducing costs on cross-border transactions with partners and suppliers is the top priority. McKinsey & Company reports that stablecoin transactions can offer near-instant settlement, which has major implications for corporate treasury and global payments.

“Just over 50% of large financial institutions say they plan to be doing or testing this in some manner in the coming 12 months, which is an extraordinarily high rate of uptake,” Brody mentioned.

Banks Currently Looking at Stablecoin Implementation

Several banks are moving from exploration to action. On November 25, 2025, U.S. Bank announced a pilot issuing a custom stablecoin on the Stellar network in collaboration with PwC and the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF).

José Fernández da Ponte, president and chief growth officer at SDF, told Cryptonews that blockchain technology makes business sense for institutions like U.S. Bank. He explained that transactions that cost thousands of dollars on legacy rails cost just a fraction of that on Stellar.

“Settlement times are also cut from days to approximately five seconds, reducing counterparty risk and intermediary fees financial institutions have to pay to move money across the globe,” he added.

The Stellar network is already partnering with enterprise financial institutions like WisdomTree, Franklin Templeton, PayPal, and MoneyGram. Fernández da Ponte shared that next year, Stellar expects to see more growth in the ecosystem as institutions explore moving on-chain.

Other major banks, including Citi, Barclays, Bank of America, and more, have also announced plans to explore and potentially adopt their own stablecoins moving forward.

Beyond banks, Ripple announced that its USD-backed stablecoin RLUSD is now recognized as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token by Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority, allowing licensed companies to use it for permitted activities.

Financial services giant Visa recently announced that it is expanding its stablecoin settlement capabilities across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) through a new partnership with digital assets platform Aquanow.

According to Visa, the integration of Aquanow’s digital asset infrastructure with Visa’s technology stack will allow issuers and acquirers across the CEMEA region to quickly settle transactions using approved stablecoins like USDC.

Adoption Takes Off, But Real Use Cases Years Away

Despite growing institutional interest, experts caution that mainstream adoption is still a few years away. Brody believes that it will take at least one to two years of network effects before banks and stablecoin usage increase.

“The benefits of stablecoins include speed, low cost, and full programmability,” he said. “But the biggest challenges are that there are still too few companies and countries connected to this expanding network and far too few foreign exchange currencies as well.”

Mike Villano, senior vice president of enterprise innovation at U.S. Bank, further noted that privacy remains a primary concern.

“One issue we hope to continue to work on with Stellar in future phases is privacy. One of the things a US Bank would expect when we deliver a product to market will be to maintain the privacy of some of the balances on a blockchain.”

November also marked a turning point for the overall stablecoin sector. A report from CoinDesk published on Nov. 26 found that the total market capitalization of stablecoins contracted 1.48% to $303 billion.

The report notes that this $4.54 billion contraction marks the steepest monthly decline since the collapse of FTX in November 2022. This demonstrates a combination of stablecoin outflows and weakening digital asset prices, suggesting a broader withdrawal of liquidity and capital from the crypto markets.

The Long-term Outlook

Industry leaders remain optimistic, though. Danny Lim, co-founder of Pundi X and Pundi AI, believes that stablecoin outflows will not impact real-world use cases. Lim told Cryptonews that bank-issued stablecoins are not meant to replace USDT or USDC, but rather to change who is willing to come on board.

“If banks issue stablecoins on public or permissioned chains, merchants get the same 24/7 settlement speed and on-chain finality as today’s public stablecoins, but with a known regulated counterparty, deposit protection, full AML/KYC, and clear domestic rules behind the token,” he said.

Lim added that in regions like Turkey and South Africa, where Pundi X has been active for years, consumers are using stablecoins like USDT and USDC for everyday remittances, savings, and protection against currency swings. He explained that a bank-issued stablecoin will likely push this further by adding regulated on and off ramps, local Know Your Customer (KYC,) and a sense of safety that appeals to more traditional families and small businesses.

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