Binance is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, and it has been putting in lots of effort to expand its reach across the world. The exchange has scored big wins in Asia, Africa, and America and is now settings sights on Europe.
The exchange has now managed to earn legal approval to operate in Cyprus. According to a recent statement, Binance will operate in the country as a Crypto Assets Services Provider. That status has been ratified by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, which is the country’s equivalent of the US SEC.
Fourth country to welcome Binance
Granted, Cyprus isn’t the first European country to warm up to Binance. As a matter of fact, it is the fourth nation to approve the exchange to operate within its borders. The other three are Italy, France, and Spain. Besides Europe, Binance has been approved to operate in many other countries in Africa, Asia, and South America. Just recently, the exchange was approved to operate in New Zealand.
With the growing popularity of the crypto space and the expanding reach of crypto exchanges, it’s only a matter of time before many other countries welcome the popular exchange into their borders. However, before that happens, there is the issue of regulation that needs to be sorted out. Notably, many countries are still grappling with how to deal with the crypto industry. Others have tried to formulate regulatory policies but have left a lot of grey areas that need to be covered.
Binance will comply
The registration of Binance as a legal entity in Cyprus will allow the exchange to extend various crypto-oriented services like staking, custodian, card, and spot trading. Expectedly, these are services that require the service provider to adhere to set rules and regulations governing Anti-Money laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF).
For this reason, Binance has pledged to make efforts to implement rigorous KYC (Know Your Customer) measures as required by law. Speaking on the issue, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said,
“Binance has some of the most thorough AML and CTF compliance policies in the industry. Recognition of the efforts we have made to be on the leading edge of compliance that our registration in Cyprus represents is a testament to that. Effective regulation that protects users and stimulates innovation is essential to the continued growth of our industry.”
What does this mean for the industry?
The breakthrough made by Binance into the European market is a great development that signals a bright future for the crypto space. As more people get on board, cryptos will gain more popularity and acceptance and possibly stand a fair chance to properly compete with fiat as means of payment. This will be complemented by the efforts being made by various Central Banks to develop their own crypto-payment systems.
