CZ Tells ASEAN: One License, Nine Countries, Zero Headaches 🛂

Changpeng Zhao endorsed a crypto license passporting system across ASEAN at the ASEAN Tech Summit Manila 2026 on July 28, arguing that firms already licensed in one member state should face only a streamlined approval process, not a full re-application, to operate across the rest of the bloc. Speaking during the "One ASEAN, One Digital Economy" fireside chat alongside FinTech Alliance PH founding chair Lito Villanueva, the former Binance CEO backed Villanueva's idea of license portability across the region, with regulators retaining the right to review applicants entering their jurisdiction but applying a fundamentally lower threshold than a fresh application.

"I think that's mostly a political problem," Zhao said of cross-border regulatory coordination, adding that the underlying technology posed no meaningful obstacle. He argued that allowing more licensed platforms to compete regionally would improve services and reduce costs for consumers. Southeast Asia currently has no bloc-wide passport for crypto companies, with each ASEAN member state running its own digital asset licensing regime, separate AML requirements, conduct rules, and capital standards that force firms to run parallel licensing processes across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.

The framework Zhao described mirrors the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, known as MiCA, under which a crypto-asset service provider authorized in one member state can offer services across the union under harmonized rules. Zhao's proposal would not create a unified single license but a mutual recognition arrangement, lowering the barrier to entry into each subsequent market while preserving national supervisory authority over locally active firms. Adoption would materially reduce compliance overhead for crypto and stablecoin service providers targeting the region's fragmented landscape, though it would still require alignment among nine politically distinct regulators. The summit appearance follows Zhao's continued public advocacy for cross-border crypto coordination since his departure from Binance's executive role, with Manila positioned as the latest stop in that outreach.