Binance and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) arrived at an agreement to prevent a full asset freeze of the platform in the U.S. and keep customer assets in the country, following a US district judge signing off on a consent order filed Saturday.
There is ongoing SEC-led litigations that could drag months and perhaps even years to resolve, accusing the company of running an illegal securities exchange.
While preserving home field advantage for now, Binance has had its share of troubles abroad and has now abruptly closed 2 major markets, while others await further probes.
Canada
Binance withdraws from Canada following additional crypto regulations.
“Unfortunately, today we are announcing that Binance will be joining other prominent crypto businesses in proactively withdrawing from the Canadian marketplace,” Binance said in a statement seen by Economy Middle East.
“We would like to thank those regulators who worked with us collaboratively to address the needs of Canadian users. Albeit a small market, it held sentimental value for us as the home country of our founder. We had high hopes for the rest of the Canadian blockchain industry. Unfortunately, new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges makes the Canadian market no longer tenable for Binance at this time. We put off this decision as long as we could to explore other reasonable avenues to protect our Canadian users, but it has become apparent that there are none.
Our remaining Canadian users are receiving an email with comprehensive information on how this will impact their accounts going forward. While we do not agree with the new guidance, we hope to continue to engage with Canadian regulators aimed at a thoughtful, comprehensive regulatory framework. We are confident that we will someday return to the market when Canadian users once again have the freedom to access a broader suite of digital assets.”
Read: Crypto market takes a hit as Binance faces SEC charges
Netherlands
Binance also released comments saying “We regret to announce that Binance is leaving the Dutch market. This unfortunately means that no new users residing in the Netherlands will be accepted as of today.”
Starting from 17 July 2023, existing Dutch resident users will only be able to withdraw their assets from the Binance platform. No further purchases, trades, or deposits will be possible.
“We encourage those users to take appropriate action by withdrawing assets from their accounts. Binance has been in a comprehensive registration application process as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) with the Dutch regulator. Although Binance explored many alternative avenues to service Dutch residents in compliance with Dutch regulations, unfortunately, this has not resulted in a VASP registration in the Netherlands at this time. Binance will continue striving to obtain authorizations to provide our products and services to users in the Netherlands.”
“Binance is already compliant with EU standards on the prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism as evidenced by its registrations in other EU countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden, and Lithuania. Binance continues to be committed to working collaboratively with regulators around the world and is additionally focused on getting our business ready to be fully compliant with the new EU rules on crypto-assets (MiCAR).”
Existing Dutch resident users are being sent an email with comprehensive information about what this means for their accounts and any assets they currently have on the Binance platform, alongside any steps they will need to take. |While Binance is disappointed that this has become necessary, it will continue to engage productively and transparently with Dutch regulators,” the Binance statement said.
Nigeria
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced via Twitter on June 18 that Binance has officially issued a cease-and-desist notice to the fraudulent entity known as Binance Nigeria Limited. On June 9, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission issued a circular stating the illegality of Binance Nigeria Limited in the country.
“We are aware of the circular, however, the entity mentioned in the circular is not affiliated with us. We are therefore seeking clarity from the Nigerian SEC and remain committed to working with them cooperatively on the next steps.
Most importantly, we want to remind users that their assets on Binance are safe, accessible, and secure. Our greatest priority will always be to deliver for our users,” said a statement also read by Economy Middle East.
Cyprus
Binance is also seeking to delist itself from the register of authorized crypto asset service providers (CASPs) in Cyprus aiming to comply with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.
“We are working hard to prepare our business to be fully compliant with MiCA when it is implemented in the next 18 months. To that end, we have made the decision to pull back efforts in Cyprus to focus on our efforts on fewer regulated entities in the EU, especially our larger registered markets where we already have a mature footprint, including France, Italy and Spain. Binance will continue to comply with applicable laws of the European Union,” said Binance in its latest statements.
France
Binance confirmed French authorities visited its offices last week and will comply accordingly.
“In France, on-site visits by regulators and inspectors are part of regulatory obligations to which all financial institutions must adhere. We had an on-site visit last week by the relevant authorities. Binance, as always, was fully collaborative and we met our obligations accordingly. We continue to work closely with regulators and law enforcement agencies on all ongoing compliance requirements to uphold high standards.
“Binance invests considerable time and resources into cooperating with law enforcement globally. We abide by all laws in France, just as we do in every other market we operate. We will not comment on the specifics of law enforcement or regulatory investigations except to say that information about our users is held securely and only provided to government officials upon receipt of documented appropriate justification,” said Binance.
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