Crypto exchange Binance announces exit from the Dutch market

Key takeaways

• Crypto exchange Binance is leaving the Dutch market after failing to register as a VASP in the Netherlands. 

• Binance recently applied to deregister its local unit in Cyprus and also exited the Canadian market.

• The cryptocurrency exchange is also facing regulatory challenges in the United States.

Binance exits the Dutch market

Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume, announced on Friday, June 16th, that it is exiting the Dutch market.

This latest cryptocurrency news comes as the company failed to register as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in the Netherlands. In its blog post, Binance wrote that;

“We regret to announce that Binance is leaving the Dutch market. With immediate effect, no new users residing in the Netherlands will be accepted. Starting from 2023-07-17 at 00:00 UTC (2023-07-17 at 02:00 UTC+2), existing Dutch resident users will only be able to withdraw assets from the Binance platform. No further purchases, trades or deposits will be possible. We encourage users to take appropriate action by withdrawing assets from their Binance accounts.”

The cryptocurrency exchange said although it explored many alternative avenues to service Dutch residents in compliance with Dutch regulations, it hasn’t been successful in obtaining a VASP registration in the Netherlands.

However, Binance said it would continue to work to obtain authorisations to provide its products and services to users in the Netherlands.

Binance’s exodus continues

Binance has been under pressure in recent weeks and has exited some markets during that period. The cryptocurrency exchange exited the Canadian market last month, citing the new guidelines that make the Canadian market no longer tenable for its operations.

The company also filed to deregister its local unit in Cyprus earlier this week. All these come at a time when Binance is facing regulatory pressure from the United States. 

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance earlier this month for allegedly breaking securities laws. The securities regulator has also filed for a temporary restraining order to freeze Binance.US’s assets.