Binance co-founder CZ backs crypto license passporting across ASEAN
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao supported crypto license passporting across ASEAN, saying firms licensed in one member state should be able to enter others through a simplified approval process instead of reapplying from scratch. He made the case at the ASEAN Tech Summit Manila 2026 during a fireside chat with FinTech Alliance PH chair Lito Villanueva. Zhao said regulators could still review applicants, but cross-border coordination is mainly a political challenge, not a technical one. A regional passporting framework could lower compliance costs, encourage competition, and make crypto and stablecoin services easier to offer across ASEAN’s fragmented markets. ASEAN already has narrower precedents in finance, including streamlined mutual-recognition arrangements for collective investment schemes and professional mobility. Zhao also pointed to the EU’s crypto passporting regime as a model.
