A subreddit post on June 19 displayed a so-called “utility closet” that Binance Ltd employs as its registered office address in the United Kingdom. Binance has denied the claims that it’s been using the building as its registered office in the U.K.
However, a representative for the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange said the registered organization is not affiliated with Binance.
The address in issue is in the town of Mildenhall in the English county of Suffolk. According to Google Maps, the location is a tiny, unremarkable garage on the outskirts of the town, about an hour and a half’s drive from the British capital, London.
Companies House says the government’s corporation registrar, Binance Ltd, shares its address with 2,403 other active companies.
The address is the location of OfficeServ, a virtual registered address service provider that seeks to provide a “believable business location,” according to the company’s website.
Companies House reveals that Binance Ltd is registered to offer “other service activities not elsewhere classified.”
The Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom has previously warned the public about the existence of crypto “clone” firms. However, the details surrounding the entity “Binance Ltd” are currently unknown. Clone firms are a type of fraud in which the perpetrators use information from legitimate businesses to deceive their targets.
Several entities with “Binance” in their names are presently located at various addresses throughout Britain.
Tech organizations and virtual shell
Technology companies around the globe and in the United States have utilized virtual “shell” addresses for years. These are used for various purposes, including protecting privacy, concealing patent filings, and registering a business in a tax refuge.
The Corporation Trust Company is the world’s largest registered agent service provider and is utilized by thousands of companies, including Google, Walmart, Coca-Cola, and Apple. It operates from a similarly unremarkable masonry structure in Delaware.
Apple employed the company in November 2012 to conceal patent filings for its recently announced Vision Pro headgear and related operating system.
The Real Bedford Football Club of Peter McCormack places Bitcoin on the map.
A 2011 Reuters article characterized Wyoming Corporate Services as a “brick house” in a “sleepy city” with 2,000 registered companies.
