Binance says it will stay in Europe as Greek licence bid fails
By Aboki Forex —
Binance has said it is not leaving Europe after its bid for a licence in Greece collapsed. The cryptocurrency exchange is now looking for other routes to keep serving European users under the European Union's new crypto rules.
Speaking to Reuters, Binance's Head of Europe and the United Kingdom said the company has no plans to pull out. 'Binance is not leaving Europe. We may just have a different pathway to being authorised. If it is not Greece, I am looking at other alternatives,' he said.
The company faces a tight deadline. Under the EU's new crypto licensing regime, Binance has about one week to get authorisation before its current permission to operate in Europe expires. If it fails, it may have to start winding down its EU operations.
According to two sources, Binance has held talks with regulators in Malta, Cyprus, and Ireland but met resistance in all three. Regulators raised concerns over Binance's past anti-money laundering violations, its complex global corporate structure, weak governance and risk management, and what some officials called a risk-taking corporate culture.
Regulatory authorities in the three countries either declined to comment or did not respond to Reuters' requests.