In a public statement published earlier today, Malta Financial Service Authority (MFSA) announced that Binance is not authorized to operate in the country.
The agency states that popular cryptocurrency, Binance is not subject to regulatory oversight due to a lack of authority to operate the crypto sphere. The report has gotten the attention of Binance CEO CZ who dismissed “FUD”. He responded that the exchange operates without having a fixed headquarters.
MFSA Assessing Binance For Services Not Under Oversight Of Regulations
The financial watchdog is, therefore, assessing Binance for activities within Malta which may not fall under regulatory oversight. MFSA cited reports in the media which referred to Binance as a Malta-based cryptocurrency exchange and maintained that admission of virtual financial assets to trading and/or for offering virtual financial assets to the public in and from Malta requires an MFSA license in terms of the Virtual Financial Assets Act (CAP 590) of 2018.
The popular cryptocurrency exchange, Binance is one of the fastest-growing crypto exchanges in the sphere. It particularly witnessed massive growth and development last year has developed a handful of products and services. These include Binance futures and BinanceUS. In terms of trading volume, the exchange is still widely considered by many review sites as one of the biggest.
Binance announced it was opening an office in Malta in March 2018 soon after it clashed with regulators in Japan, where the exchange had previously attempted to establish a presence. At the time, Maltese prime minister, Joseph Muscat, welcomed the exchange to the country, tweeting that it would support its goal to become the “global trailblazers in the regulation of blockchain-based businesses.”
Binance Particularly Interested In Malta
For a couple of years now, particularly since 2018, Binance has been revealing plans for developing a few projects in Malta. The exchange announced in March of 2018 that it would open an office in the country, with a plan to offering crypto exchange services there in the future. Although not much was heard of the development thereafter, Binance never relented in its dreams of exploring Malta.
Back in Sept last year, Binance states that it was looking into possible cooperation with Malta Stock Exchange (MSX). The exchange wanted to begin offering security token trading. It also announced in 2019 it was providing funding for a new crypto-friendly Maltese bank.
Binance is not headquartered – Binance CEO CZ
When contacted concerning the situation, Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao was said to decline response. However, the CEO took to Twitter instead and said Binance is not headquartered. In his tweet responding to the issue, CZ cleared the air that Binance is not operated or headquartered in the region. According to him,
“There is a mix of truth, FUD & misconception. https://t.co/9rMMAmc1G9 is not headquartered or operated in Malta. This is old news & has always been the case, hence there is quite a bit of FUD turning this into a breaking story. The community’s comments show that understanding.”
BREAKING: Nothing has changed in Malta, for Binance or any other crypto exchanges. No licenses were granted to anyone by Malta, as of yet.
Some media, even crypto media, has such a bad habit of releasing misleading news that only hurts their own credibility and our industry. https://t.co/C9MdCngx70
— CZ Binance
(@cz_binance) February 21, 2020
However, Josh Goodbody, Binance’s director for growth and institutional business said; As we run such a decentralized operation, there isn’t a clear answer for that – where we operate regulated businesses (e.g. Binance Singapore, Binance US, etc), we have teams based there,”
As we run such a decentralized operation, there isn’t a clear answer for that – where we operate regulated businesses (e.g. Binance Singapore, Binance US, etc), we have teams based there,”
As CZ is highly known for his transparent communication, Twitter users who seem as CZ’s fans responded positively. One Twitter user tweeted “Binance’s headquarters is in our hearts. Everyone knows this”. Another user tweeted, stating, “@cz_binance lives on the moon fools.”.
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