Binance Relaunches in Belgium: Is The Tide Turning For its EU Business?

Key Takeaways

• Binance has opened its platform to Belgiuan users after it was forced to cease operations in June.
• Belgian users will now register via Binance’s Polish business.
• After months of challenging business conditions, the relaunch is the first good news for Binance’s EU operations in a while.

With the exchange shuttered by regulators in Belgium and the Netherlands, and denied a key license in Germany, Binance’s EU ambitions have suffered multiple setbacks in recent months.

But after a string of bad news, things may finally be getting better for the company.

Binance Makes Belgian Comeback

In a statement of Monday, September 25, Binance announced that Belgian residents would be able to register to use the platform for the first time since the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) ordered it to cease operations in June.

The FSMA’s objection stemmed from the way Binance failed to provide services in Belgium via an appropriately licensed entity. According to Belgian law, only exchanges registered within the European Economic Area can offer cryptocurrency trading services in the country.

In August, Binance announced Belgian users could access the platform by accepting new terms with Binance Poland as the license holder.

Now, the company seems ready to expand its services and welcome new customers in Belgium.

Looking forward, the Belgian relaunch could signal the start of a new era of stability for Binance’s EU business after months of difficult conditions.

Streamlining Binance’s European Business

In addition to its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration in Poland, Binance entities hold various crypto licenses in France, Italy, Lithuania and Sweden. 

However, as the EU prepares for a more unified crypto licensing regime under its new Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, which comes into force next year, there is no need for firms to maintain multiple registrations.

In a sign that Binance is preparing to streamline its EU license base, in June, the company withdrew its registration with the regulator in Cyprus.

According to Reuters , Binance said it was pulling back from Cyprus to sharpen its focus on other EU countries ahead of the MiCA rollout.

“We are working hard to prepare our business to be fully compliant with MiCA when it is implemented in the next 18 months,” the firm said in a statement.

“To that end, we have made the decision to pull back efforts in Cyprus to focus on our efforts on fewer regulated entities in the EU, especially our larger registered markets where we already have a mature footprint, including France, Italy and Spain.”