Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has expressed its intention to withdraw the registration of its unit in Cyprus as a crypto service provider. This decision stems from the company’s desire to prioritize compliance with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation.
This move follows closely on the heels of Binance facing a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which includes allegations of operating without proper registration and offering unregistered securities.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission’s website has stated that the exchange is currently “under examination for application for deregistration,” although the specific reasons for this are not disclosed.
A spokesperson for Binance explained their rationale, stating, “We are diligently working to prepare our operations to achieve full compliance with MiCA within the next 18 months. In pursuit of this goal, we have made the decision to scale back our activities in Cyprus and concentrate our efforts on a smaller number of regulated entities within the EU.”
It’s worth noting that Binance had previously obtained registration as a crypto asset service provider (CASP) in Cyprus back in October of the previous year, enabling it to offer various services, including spot trading, custody, staking, and card services in Cyprus.