Back in June, Binance received a regulatory mandate for an immediate cessation of its operations in Belgium, prompting the redirection of Belgian users to the Binance Poland subsidiary.
Binance, the giant cryptocurrency exchange, has reopened registrations and access to its products and services for its Belgian users, marking a significant development three months after Belgium’s financial regulatory authority ordered the suspension of cryptocurrency-related services by the exchange.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on September 25, Binance officially announced the resumption of new registrations for Belgian residents. Binance has outlined that a range of its products and services will once again become available to Belgian users who have accepted the updated Terms of Use.
The ordeal began on June 23 when the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority accused Binance of breaching anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws in Belgium by providing cryptocurrency services “from countries that are not members of the European Economic Area.” Consequently, the regulatory authority issued an immediate cease-and-desist order, necessitating Binance to halt all cryptocurrency-related services in Belgium. Additionally, Binance was obligated to reach out to all its Belgian-based clients and return any cryptocurrencies and private keys held by the exchange.
In response, Binance rerouted its services for Belgian users through Binance Poland sp. z o.o., its Polish-registered subsidiary, which had been registered as a virtual asset service provider in January.
While Binance confirmed the reopening of services for Belgian users, the statement did not provide specific details about the changes made to facilitate this resumption. Cointelegraph has sought comments from both Binance and Belgium’s FSMA for further clarification.
In other developments across Europe, Binance has indicated its intention to delist stablecoins for the European market by June 2024 to comply with the European Union’s upcoming Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation, scheduled to take effect in June 2024.
Meanwhile, in the United States, there has been a notable departure of executives from Binance.US, prompting speculation about potential internal issues within the firm. Despite these rumors, Binance’s CEO, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, has consistently denied any such internal problems on multiple occasions.