Malta’s Financial Watchdog Says Binance Is Not Licensed

Malta’s financial watchdog explained that Binance is not licensed or regulated to operate in Malta as we are reading further in the Binance news today.

Malta’s financial watchdog or the Malta Financial Services authority recently released a new statement announcement that the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume is not authorized to operate in the island nation. The company is not a subject to regulatory oversight by the MFSA according to the announcement. Malta’s financial watchdog revealed that there is an ongoing investigation to assess whether the exchange has activities in the nation or they simply fall within the realm of regulatory oversight:

 “Admission of virtual financial assets to trading and/or for offering virtual financial assets to the public in and from Malta requires an MFSA licence in terms of the Virtual Financial Assets Act (CAP 590) of 2018.’’

Due to spur that the MFSA’s statement caused in the crypto community, Changpeng Zhao who is the CEO of Binance, took it to twitter to explain the allegations saying that this is ‘’old news’’ :

 “There is a mix of truth, FUD & misconception. Binance.com 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.’’

Zhao added that the company operates in a decentralized manner and reached more than 180 nations worldwide. Binance does have a huge number of regulated entities across the world and it has a goal to become a fully decentralized autonomous organization. Users still don’t know where Binance is actually located since it announced it is moving to Malta back in 2018 after they were forced to move out from Japan because of the harsh regulatory climate. During the same time, Joseph Muscat who is the prime minister of Malta, appeared to have welcomed the exchange to the island:

 “Welcome to Malta Binance. We aim to be the global trailblazers in the regulation of blockchain-based businesses and the jurisdiction of quality and choice for world class fintech companies.’’

Binance’s chief growth officer admitted in an interview about the offices in Malta:

 “We have offices in Malta for customer services, and some compliance people there, but it’s not the headquarters per say. It’s the spiritual headquarters. It’s a name that people think about when they think about Binance.’’