The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance intends to exit the Dutch market having failed to successfully register as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) with the EU country.
“We regret to announce that Binance is leaving the Dutch market. With immediate effect, no new users residing in the Netherlands will be accepted,” read the official press release.
“Although we explored many alternative avenues to service Dutch residents in compliance with Dutch regulations, unfortunately this has not resulted in a VASP registration in the Netherlands at this time,” said the company.
It comes as Binance’s US operations hang in the balance following a major regulatory action against the exchange by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Binance suspended US dollar deposits on June 9 due to what it called “extremely aggressive and intimidating tactics in (the SEC’s) pursuit of an ideological campaign against the American digital asset industry".
The SEC has accused Binance and rival exchange Coinbase of offering unregistered securities in violation of federal laws.
Despite Binance’s exit from the Netherlands, the exchange noted that it is already compliant with regulations across numerous EU jurisdictions including France, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Spain and Lithuania.
Binance also said it was gearing up for the bloc-wide Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) legislation due to take effect in the coming years.