Regulatory Pressure Forces Binance to Restrict Services Across Multiple Countries
Crypto News – Binance, renowned as the world’s largest digital currency trading platform in terms of trading volume, finds itself navigating regulatory hurdles across various nations, leading to service restrictions and complete cessation of operations in certain regions.
As per Binance’s own list of ‘prohibited countries,’ the exchange no longer offers services in Canada, the Netherlands, the United States, Cuba, the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (“DPRK”), Iran, Syria, the Crimea region, or any non-government controlled areas of Ukraine.
The exchange has recently encountered regulatory scrutiny in Nigeria, resulting in the compelled termination of all Nigerian Naira (NGN) trading services on its platform. Accusations of terrorism financing and money laundering have been leveled against the platform in the region.
Additionally, Binance has opted to withdraw its application for a license in Abu Dhabi, as reported by Reuters on March 7. A Binance spokesperson remarked, “When assessing our global licensing needs, we concluded that this application was unnecessary,” noting that the application was submitted a year earlier on November 7.
Negotiations with Indian regulators are currently underway after authorities blocked access to Binance’s mobile application and website. Allegations of non-compliance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) regulations have been made by the authorities.
Of note, the German regulator, BaFin, rejected Binance’s application for a cryptocurrency custody license following regulatory actions initiated by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In a notable development, Changpeng Zhao, the former chief executive of Binance, confirmed in February that the company had scaled back its investments in the United States due to regulatory pressures in the region.
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