Binance co-founder backs crypto passporting across ASEAN

Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao endorsed cross-border crypto license passporting at the ASEAN Tech Summit Manila 2026. He said companies already licensed in one member state should be allowed to enter others through a simplified approval process rather than filing a full new application.

Zhao supported a proposal from FinTech Alliance PH founding chair Lito Villanueva for regulatory passporting or license portability. Regulators, he said, could still review applicants but avoid duplicate, time-consuming authorizations. He described cross-border coordination as ‘mostly a political problem’ and said the technical work to enable cross-border access is straightforward. He added that allowing more licensed platforms to compete could improve services and lower costs for consumers.

ASEAN’s digital-asset regulatory landscape is fragmented. Member states apply separate rules and approval processes, which forces crypto firms and stablecoin providers to complete multiple licensing procedures to operate across the region. A framework that recognizes licenses issued by one jurisdiction could reduce compliance costs and ease expansion.

There are existing regional arrangements in other parts of finance. The ASEAN Capital Markets Forum’s Collective Investment Schemes Framework lets a fund authorized in its home jurisdiction be offered in participating host jurisdictions through a streamlined authorization process. That framework began operating in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in 2014, and the Philippines joined in 2021.

The ACMF also introduced an ACMF Pass under its Professional Mobility Framework. The pass gives eligible investment advisers fast-track registration to provide advisory services in another participating jurisdiction without obtaining a full new license. Those arrangements are narrower than the passporting concept discussed at the summit and remain subject to host-market requirements.

Zhao pointed to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation as a direct comparison, where an authorized crypto-asset service provider can notify its home regulator and then offer services across member states.

Speakers at the summit presented passporting as a way to encourage competition and broaden consumer choice while keeping regulatory oversight. Officials and industry participants noted that differences in national laws and regulatory approaches must be resolved before any ASEAN-wide passporting system can be implemented.