Expect a long winter after FTX meltdown, says former Binance CFO

• Former Binance CFO expects the ongoing crypto winter to last longer than expected.

• Zhou said China’s ban on crypto trading and mining offers certainty and clarity.

• More restrictive regulation should be expected in the industry, Zhou added.

The crypto winter will be long, says Zhou Wei

Zhou Wei, the former chief financial officer (CFO) of Binance, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in a recent interview that he expects the ongoing crypto winter to last longer following the FTX collapse.

The former CFO predicted that the the crypto market would remain depressed for a long time with more restrictive regulations on the way. He stated that;

“Basically, we have to all brace ourselves for a pretty long winter in the crypto world. It’s going to push everyone into a deeper bear market.”
Zhou resigned from his position as Binance CFO last year and is now the CEO of Coins.ph, a fiat and crypto mobile wallet in the Philippines. 

Regulators in the United States are already looking to increase their scrutiny of cryptocurrencies. Earlier this week, SEC chairman Gary Gensler revealed that the crackdown on the cryptocurrency market is just starting. Zhou said;

“There’s going to be more legislative action taking place, and crypto-related policies around the world may become more restrictive.”

However, the former Binance CFO said he hopes the United States government will regulate the crypto industry “in a pro-growth way” since it sets the direction on how the rest of the world would react. 

China’s crypto ban is okay

According to Zhou, looking at China’s crypto ban in retrospect makes the move a positive one by the Chinese government. He argued that there is certainty and clarity in China following the government’s ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining.

Despite the ban, the SCMP said an underground cryptocurrency trading community continues to exist in China. The publication revealed that Mainland Chinese accounted for 8% of FTX’s customer base, four times higher than the 2% recorded in the United States.