Binance leaves Austria, continuing European exodus: Finance FWD

Binance has previously discontinued its services in the Netherlands, Cyprus and Canada

June 26, 2023 01:24 pm

cenkgursoylu art studio/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

The dominoes continue to fall in Binance’s exit from European nations.

On Monday, Finance FWD reported that the crypto exchange withdrew its license application from Austria “some time ago.”

Blockworks reached out to Binance regarding the supposed withdrawal, but the exchange declined to offer any more details.

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“We are unable to share details of our conversations with regulators, however we remain committed to acting in compliance with our obligations wherever Binance operates. Our current focus in Europe is on ensuring that we will be in full compliance with the requirements of MiCA when it is implemented at the end of next year,” a statement provided to Blockworks said.

This comes just over a week after Binance called it quits in the Netherlands, telling Blockworks it couldn’t secure a license in the country. Binance’s unit in Cyprus also folded recently.

The regulatory woes of Binance aren’t limited to Europe. Binance and its CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao were sued by the SEC in the US earlier this month for allegedly selling unregistered securities and commingling customer funds.

Binance denied mishandling its users’ money and called the SEC suit “unjustified.”

Also in North America, Binance closed down its Canadian operations in May. The exchange said the market was “no longer tenable” because of Canadian restrictions on stablecoin use.

Down under, Binance has had plenty of run-ins with Australian regulators as well. In April, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) stripped Binance Australia of its derivatives license. Binance Australia later suspended select Australian dollar deposits for PayID transfers — a frequently-used method for instant bank transfers in Australia.

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