After the Netherlands, Cyprus and France, Binance is now leaving the United Kingdom. The first signs were already visible on May 30, when Binance Markets Limited (BML) withdrew an official license application.

This is according to a message from the English Financial Markets Authority (FCA). As a result, Binance has no license to operate in the country. According to the FCA, BML voluntarily withdrew its application.

According to Ilir Laro, head of Binance Markets Limited, the revocation of the license does not affect BML’s operations. This is because at no time would the company have been active in the United Kingdom. According to him, BML was bought by Binance in 2020 to start a regulated business in the United Kingdom. However, this attempt had "failed" and therefore BML had since been closed. Still, the news dovetails with earlier bad reports.

Binance departs from multiple countries

In recent days, Binance had already withdrawn from Cyprus and the Netherlands due to regulatory problems. This was followed by an investigation by French authorities on suspicion of money laundering. The closing of the Dutch branch in particular sent shockwaves through the European crypto landscape. In a press release, Binance told:

"We regret to inform you that Binance is exiting the Dutch market. Effective immediately, no new users residing in the Netherlands will be accepted."

Users who were already registered can only withdraw assets and thus no longer transfer money to the platform. The exchange is also stopping all trades for Dutch accounts effective immediately. The background is a missing license as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in the Netherlands. According to its own statement, the Dutch financial regulator never granted Binance the necessary license, despite "an extensive application process."

Binance: fines for missing licenses

In April 2022, De Nederlandsche Bank imposed a fine of €3.325 million. The reason was the lack of a license. At least the fine was reduced by five percent because Binance subsequently applied for the necessary license.

Recently, the company came under fire from the SEC in the US. The US Securities and Exchange Commission accused the company’s US division of embezzlement and sued the exchange. Only a short time later, Binance.US shut down its operations almost completely; deposits in USD are no longer possible.

The negative news in this bear market is certainly not over yet. At this time it is all the more important to look for a reliable partner, given the termination of Dutch broker Litebit and the departure of Binance from the Dutch market.