Binance to Shut Down in Malaysia, Scales Down Derivatives in Europe
- The Malaysian Securities Commission has issued a notice ordering Binance to stop offering its services in the country.
- The exchange also revealed that its clients in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands will no longer be able to open new futures and derivatives accounts.
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Popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance has decided to scale down its futures and derivatives products in the European region, the exchange said in a blog post on 30 July.
According to the announcement, the exchange plans to start with Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, where users are already unable to open new futures accounts. While existing accounts in these countries can continue to trade, Binance will soon give these users a 90 day notice to clear all of their open positions. The exchange said in its blog post:
“Binance will wind down its futures and derivatives products offerings in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. With immediate effect, users from these countries will not be able to open new futures or derivatives products accounts. With effect from a later date to be announced in a further notice, users from these countries will have 90 days to close their open positions.”
It comes as a no surprise that Binance is trying to distance itself from the products and services that could draw the attention of regulators, considering the exchange’s recent troubles with regulators around the globe. Earlier this week, the exchange also limited crypto margin trading with the sterling, euro, and Australian dollar, only hours after it reduced the maximum leverage limit on futures contracts from 100x to 20x.
While the exchange is trying to play nice with European regulators, the Malaysian Securities Commission (SC) served a public reprimand against Binance, ordering the exchange and its entities to stop operations in the country. This is not the first time Binance has received a warning from the regulator, with the exchange being added to a list of companies not permitted to operate in the country back in July 2020. Binance has 14 business days from Tuesday to comply with the order and disable access to its website and mobile apps.
- The popular crypto exchange has decided to sell its business in Russia to CommEX, a crypto exchange business that was officially launched on Tuesday.
- Binance noted that it will fully exit the Russian market, and have no ongoing revenue split or any option to buy back shares in the business.
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- The company said it will be suspending its crypto-backed debit card service in the Middle East on 25 August, and in Latin America by 21 September.
- Although no reason was given for the decision, the company noted that “less than 1% of users” in those regions will be affected by the change.
- A spokesperson said the change was due to the “changing market and user needs”, and that Binance will now be refocusing its resources on its main products and long-term goals.
- Launched in March 2022, Binance Connect helped crypto businesses connect with the traditional finance system, and supported 50 cryptocurrencies and networks such as Visa and Mastercard.