Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, said on Friday that it was leaving the Dutch market because it had been unable to meet registration requirements to operate as a virtual asset service provider.
It is the latest in a string of setbacks for Binance including the June 5 decision by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to charge the company with evading securities laws. Binance disputes the SEC charges.
A spokesperson for Binance, which had been operating in the Netherlands without permission from regulators, said that the company had tried “many alternative avenues” to meet Dutch registration requirements.
“While Binance is disappointed that this has become necessary, it will continue to engage productively and transparently with Dutch regulators,” they said.
The company said that starting July 17, trading in the Netherlands will be halted and existing Dutch users will only be able to withdraw assets from its platform.
The Dutch Central Bank (DNB), which registers financial service providers in the Netherlands said it had previously warned the company it was operating in the Netherlands without proper registration and then fined it for the same reason in January.
Binance has also recently announced plans to leave Cyprus, Canada and Australia.
The company said on Friday however that it has received registration in other European Union countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania, and will continue to operate there.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
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