The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) denied that it had regulated Binance or the exchange to leave to operate in the island’s fledgling cryptocurrency industry. As such, Binance is not licensed to operate and is not regulated in Malta.
Binance is neither licensed to operate nor is it regulated in Malta?
Previously, Binance was a crypto company based in Malta. However, the regulator stated that Binance would not be authorized by MFSA to operate in the cryptocurrency sector and, therefore, not subject to MFSA’s oversight.
In March 2018, Binance announced it would open an office in Malta shortly after clashing with regulators in Japan. At the time, Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, welcomed the exchange to the country, saying it would support its goal of becoming global pioneers in blockchain-based businesses.
In September 2018, the exchange also said it would work with the Malta Stock Exchange (MSX) to start offering offer security token trading. Accordingly, at the end of 2019, Binance announced it is providing funding for a new crypto-friendly Maltese bank. It is unknown if Binance still has an office in Malta.
No matter where it does not seem to announce its headquarters officially, the company will often list Malta when it starts making public announcements and releasing them to the press.
Josh Goodbody, Binance’s director for growth and institutional business, once shared:
“When we run such a decentralized operation, there is no clear answer to that – where we run regulated businesses (e.g., Binance Singapore, Binance US, etc.), I have teams working there.”
Josh Goodbody, Binance’s director for growth and institutional business
Besides, MFSA said it is currently evaluating whether Binance has activities in Malta that are not within the regulatory oversight. The regulator also reiterated that after the approval of the Virtual Financial Assets Act of 2018, businesses in Malta that traded or provided cryptocurrencies had to be fully licensed.
However, CZ has confirmed that this is FUD. Binance.com is not operating or based in Malta. Therefore, the above information must be created by someone who intentionally created it for some purpose.
There is a mix of truth, FUD & misconception. https://t.co/9rMMAmc1G9 is not headquartered or operated in Malta. This is old news & has always been the case, hence there is quite a bit of FUD turning this into a breaking story. The community’s comments show that understanding. https://t.co/eXCq8rO1Ue
— CZ Binance ??? (@cz_binance) February 21, 2020
At press time, the BNB price is increasing by 2.47%, recording a price of $ 22.28, according to Coinmarketcap data.
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