On Monday, the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) announced that it had filed cryptocurrency exchange Binance the sum of 3.3 million euros (or $3.35 million) for offering services in the Netherlands without being registered in the country.
The Dutch Central Bank issued the fine against crypto titan Binance Holdings Ltd. back in April this year after issuing a public warning against the exchange in August 2021. In a statement the apex bank issued, the bank noted that Binance had indicated plans to appeal the decision last month. According to the apex bank, Binance had been in violation of money laundering laws and kept enjoying a competitive advantage against registered companies during the period of non-compliance which the bank says was between May 2020 and December 2021. Binance is one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, and also one of the most trusted and most used. This, therefore, explains the competitive advantage the company enjoyed over other registered companies.
The fine, according to a Binance spokesperson, marked a “pivot in our ongoing collaboration” with the DNB. The spokesperson also added that Binance had set up a local branch in the company called Binance Nederland BV, and these were steps being taken to get into the good books of the DNB. “With this now behind us, we can continue pursuing a more traditional operating model in the Netherlands,” the spokesperson said.
The DNB, on the other hand, said that it is yet to approve Binance’s registration but had reduced the fine it originally had in mind for the company by 5 percent. The DNB said it did this because Binance has “been relatively transparent about its operations throughout the process”.
Binance local branch – Binance Nederland BV was established in October 2021 and has been owned by Binance Holdings Ltd. of Ireland since December 24, 2021, according to Dutch Chamber of Commerce filings.
Binance has been successful in receiving regulatory approvals from countries in Europe including France, Spain, and Italy. The exchange has also received regulatory approval from Bahrain’s central bank and Abu Dhabi regulators this year.
Ibhadojemu Lucky Emmanuel is a graduate of Education and Economics from the University of Benin. He has a passion for tech and business and has been writing professionally for over a period of five years. He's written across various topics and segments and knew tech-business was it when he first stumbled on it. He has a great passion for music and arts, and wants to visit as many countries as he can someday.
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