The United Kingdom-registered address for an entity of one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, Binance, is a tiny building in Britain’s east that is shared by thousands of other companies. The so-called “utility closet” Binance Ltd and thousands of other firms use as a registered office address in the U.K. is a tactic often used by other tech firms and large companies.
Binance Ltd’s address points to the small town of Mildenhall in Suffolk county, England. Google Maps images show the site is a small, nondescript garage building on the outer edge of the town about an hour and a half’s drive from Britain’s capital London.
Companies House, the government’s company’s registrar, shows Binance Ltd shares the address with 2,403 active companies in total. The address is the site of a company called OfficeServ, a virtual registered address service provider which aims to give a “believable business location,” as per its website.
The use of virtual “shell” addresses by technology companies has been a common practice around the world and in the United States for years. Such addresses are used for various reasons, including providing privacy, obscuring patent filings, or registering a business in a corporate tax haven.
The Corporation Trust Company, the world’s largest registered agent service firm used by thousands of firms, including well-known companies such as Google, Walmart, Coca-Cola, and Apple, operates out of a similarly nondescript brick building in Delaware as Binance.
While it is clear that Binance isn’t alone in using such addresses, it does raise questions about the transparency of operations for these companies. For example, Apple used the Corporation Trust Company’s services last November in an attempt to obscure the patent filings for its recently announced Vision Pro headset and a related operating system.
Interestingly, some argue that the use of virtual offices by large corporations could serve as a red flag. For instance, Wyoming Corporate Services was uncovered in a 2011 Reuters exposé which revealed it as a “brick house” in a “sleepy city” and home to 2,000 registered companies at the time.
In conclusion, while Binance and other technology firms may not be breaking any laws by using virtual “shell” addresses, it does raise questions about transparency and the ethical implications of such practices. As the crypto industry continues to mature and regulations evolve, it remains to be seen if the use of shell addresses will continue or if there will be a push for greater transparency.
Source: Cointelegraph
