By: Jasmine ANAND
5 September 2023
Founded in 2017, Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange across the globe in terms of trading volume. Here, users can buy, sell as well as store their digital assets.
Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, have faced mounting pressure following a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging deceptive practices within the exchange. Despite the legal challenges, Binance has consistently denied the charges levied against it.
Binance has faced some regulatory restrictions in several jurisdictions worldwide. Let us look at some of these countries.
The ban on Binance in the US is due to concerns over compliance with US laws and regulations. US regulators have been cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges that do not follow the rules.
The world's largest crypto exchange withdrew from mainland China in 2017 during a regulatory crackdown. The Binance.com website is blocked in China and is not accessible to China-based users.
In June 2023, BaFin, Germany’s financial regulator, revealed that it would reject Binance’s licence application. Hence, the crypto exchange decided to abandon its efforts to enter the German market by ‘proactively withdrawing its BaFin application.'
Following the failure to obtain a virtual asset service provider license from the Dutch Central Bank, Binance announced to end its operations in the Netherlands.
Binance announced its departure from the Canadian market due to the uncertain regulatory environment. It described the market as “uncontrollable” due to new recommendations regarding stablecoins and investor restrictions on crypto exchanges.