Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has applied to withdraw its registration in Cyprus as a crypto asset service provider. The move aims to allow the firm to focus on its larger markets in Europe. The registration authorizes the company to offer its crypto services, including spot trading and custody, in compliance with Cyprus' anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules. - The popular crypto exchange was registered with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission in October 2022.
- However, the company has never launched its business in the island country.
- A Binance spokesperson said they intend to direct their focus to the larger markets within the European Union (EU) ahead of the rollout of the bloc's region-wide crypto regulations, Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA).
- The spokesperson added that they are working hard to prepare Binance as a fully compliant platform with MiCA before it starts being implemented in the next 18 months.
- Binance has licenses and registrations in six countries of the EU, including France, Italy, and Spain.
The move came shortly after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a 136-page complaint against Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) over U.S. law violations with 13 charges. - The allegations in the complaint include mishandling customer funds, misleading investors and regulators, violating securities laws, creating an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, wash trading, and calculated evasion of the law.
|
