Binance Reinstates Services in Belgium Following a Temporary Halt Imposed by Finance Regulator
Summary:
Belgian residents can now register and access services on cryptocurrency exchange Binance, three months after Belgium's finance regulator mandated the exchange to halt its crypto-related services countrywide. The company has not revealed what measures it took to facilitate this resumption. Binance's Polish arm, registered as a virtual asset service provider, serviced Belgian users during this period. The firm also plans to delist stablecoins in the European market by June 2024 in accordance with the upcoming EU's crypto-asset market legislation. Amid unconfirmed reports of internal turmoil at Binance.US due to a large-scale exodus of executives, CEO Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao has consistently denied such notions.
In a move that marks a significant turnaround, Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, has reopened the door for Belgian crypto enthusiasts to sign up and use their suite of services and products. Only three months ago, the firm was forced by Belgium's financial regulator to halt all crypto-related services within the country. On September 25, Binance made a public declaration on the social media platform X (previously Twitter), stating, "Our platform is once again open for new registrations from Belgian residents." The company further stated that Belgian users who agreed to the updated Terms of Use would regain access to a range of Binance functionalities.
On June 23 this year, the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority pointed a finger at Binance for contravening the country's laws against money laundering and financing terrorism, the allegations being related to crypto services being provided from non-European Economic Area nations. The regulator commanded a complete and instantaneous shutdown of all related services within Belgium by Binance. This included contacting every Belgian customer and returning the cryptocurrency and private keys held by the platform. The directive led Binance to reroute its services for Belgian users via its Polish entity, Binance Poland Sp z o.o., registered as a virtual asset service provider in January.
No details were given by Binance regarding any adjustments made to facilitate the resumption of services to Belgian users. Attempts have been made to reach Binance representatives and Belgium's FSMA for statements concerning the issue.
In regard to other European matters, Binance has made it known that it aims to remove stablecoins from the European market by June 2024. This decision corresponds with the upcoming application of the European Union’s forthcoming Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation, which is scheduled to come into force in June 2024.
Amidst rumors of internal issues due to a significant number of executive departures from Binance.US, the CEO of Binance, Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao, has repeatedly dismissed such speculation.
Published At
9/25/2023 11:21:42 PM
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