Binance exits Cyprus to focus on larger EU markets amid regulatory hurdles

Binance is pulling out of Cyprus to focus on its larger market in France, Italy, and Spain, according to a June 14 press statement shared with CryptoSlate.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission website confirmed that the exchange was “under examination for application for deregistration.”

Binance registered with the regulator in October 2022. However, the website did not show when the exchange applied to deregister.

A Binance spokesperson attributed the exchange’s decision to part of its efforts to “be fully compliant with MiCA when it is implemented in the next 18 months.” The spokesperson added:

“We have made the decision to pull back efforts in Cyprus to focus on our efforts on fewer regulated entities in the EU, especially our larger registered markets where we already have a mature footprint, including France, Italy, and Spain. Binance will continue to comply with applicable laws of the European Union.”

Regulatory struggles

Binance’s decision is coming amid recent regulatory struggles in the U.S.

On June 5, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued the exchange for federal securities law violations and for facilitating trades of security offerings like BNB and BUSD. Since then, the regulator has moved to freeze the assets of its U.S. subsidiary, Binance US, and issued a court summons for CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao.

Meanwhile, Binance said it would defend itself in court against these charges.

Additionally, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission declared Binance Nigeria Limited’s operation illegal within the country. In response, Binance said it does not recognize the entity named in the Nigerian SEC circular.

A spokesperson for the exchange said:

“The entity mentioned in the circular is not affiliated with us. We are therefore seeking clarity from the Nigerian SEC and remain committed to working with them cooperatively on the next steps.”

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