“The association will try to maintain communication with regulators and also maintain best practices in the industry, including proof of reserves, transparency,” Zhao said on a Twitter Spaces event that hosted over 40,000 listeners.
The association would not be run by Binance, Zhao said, adding that it would be a third-party that “has done this many times for different industries.” The Binance chief said that multiple regulators had requested that he set up such an association.
“We will also try to act as a point of communication on policy, thought leadership, commenting on the pros and cons of certain policies,” he said.
Earlier on Monday, Binance announced it would put together a recovery fund that could help to alleviate some of the pain inflicted on the industry after FTX filed for bankruptcy protection last week. Four or five funders already expressed interest, Zhao said.
While Zhao said he was optimistic despite the trying times, he acknowledged the role he had played in the market downturn.
“As much as people blame me for whistleblowing or poking the bubble or whatever [...] I apologize for any turmoil that I caused, " he said. "But if there is a problem, the earlier we reveal it, the better.”
FTX's troubles took a turn for the worse on Nov. 6, when Zhao first said that Binance would sell its holdings of FTX's native token.
“We will try to achieve a good balance between whistleblowing, causing panic, causing prices to drop, and building a healthy industry and cleaning out the bad players,” Zhao said.
