Binance will leave the Netherlands because it has failed to obtain a VASP.
Binance has announced that it will be leaving the Netherlands after regulatory stalemate. The exchange will withdraw from the country after failing to secure the necessary approval from the Netherlands financial regulator.
The regulator also notes that the exchange failed to comply with its Anti-Money laundering laws.
Binance leaves the Netherlands
Binance will be leaving the Netherlands after failing to secure the necessary approval of the Dutch financial regulator.
The world’s leading exchange failed to get the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licence from the Netherlands authorities. This licence confirms compliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism, Know Your Customer (KYC), etc.
The exchange will stop servicing its Netherlands customers starting from July 17. Trading will be halted and users will only be able to withdraw their funds.
“Binance has been in a comprehensive registration application process as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) with the Dutch regulator,” the exchange said in a statement. “Although we 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.”
Under the existing regulatory regime, Binance can only secure approval to operate in an EU country by registering under its money laundering prevention rules.
The exchange added that it “will continue striving to obtain authorizations” that will allow it to provide products and services to Dutch users.
The Dutch central bank hit Binance with a $3.35M fine last year for providing services in the country without the necessary authorization.
Prior to that, in August 2021, the Dutch authority informed the cryptocurrency exchange that it was operating illegally in the country.
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MiCA may affect crypto exchanges
Binance is currently registered in other European countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden, and Lithuania. However, the exchange will leave Cyprus in an effort to fully comply with the new European Union Markets in Crypto-Asset (MiCA) regulations.
MiCa aims to create a unified crypto regulation across the continent on order to prevent bad actors from harming users of crypto exchanges and other parts of the crypto sector.
After MiCA comes into operation, cryptocurrency companies who have registered in one EU country will be able to use it to provide their services in other member states.
Binance said it remains “committed to working collaboratively with regulators around the world and are additionally focused on getting our business ready to be fully MiCA compliant.”
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