Binance banned in Malaysia, given 14 days notice to shut down operations

Published at: July 30, 2021

Malaysia is the latest regulatory theater to come after Binance as authorities in the country have accused the exchange giant of continuing to operate in the country illegally.

According to an announcement released on Friday, the Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia has served a public reprimand against Binance, calling for the exchange and all of its entities to cease operations in the country.

The SC stated that Binance continued to operate in Malaysia despite previous warnings. Indeed, back in July 2020, Cointelegraph reported that Binance was not permitted to operate in Malaysia.

At the time, the SC published an "Investor Alert List" containing several digital asset exchanges offering services in the country without due authorization from Malaysian regulators.

Binance has 14 business days from Tuesday to comply with the order that includes disabling its website and mobile apps, as well as discontinuing any media campaign for its services in the country.

The announcement also mandated that Binance's CEO, Changpeng Zhao, ensures full compliance with the order. Malaysia's securities regulator also urged citizens to desist from trading with crypto exchanges operating in the country illegally.

Responding to Cointelegraph's request for comments, a spokesperson for the exchange explained that Binance.com does not operate out of Malaysia, adding:

"Binance takes a collaborative approach in working with regulators in navigating this emerging industry and we take our compliance obligations very seriously. We are actively keeping abreast of changing policies, rules and laws in this new space."

The news out of Malaysia concerning Binance is only the latest in sweeping regulatory actions specifically targeted at the exchange giant. From warnings to investigations and now outright bans, the platforms appear to be under the cosh of financial watchdogs across the globe.

Earlier in July, Italy's financial regulator issued a warning against Binance, stating that the platform was not authorized to offer services in the country. Apart from Italy, countries like Germany, Poland, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, the United States and the United Kingdom, among others, have also issued warnings about Binance.

Binance, for its part, has taken steps to mitigate the situation, with its CEO promising to work with regulators amid plans for even further expansion across the globe. There has also been a flurry of policy changes at the exchange with withdrawal limits reduced for users who are yet to complete the platform's identity verification protocols.

Meanwhile, the exchange has also announced plans to shut down crypto derivatives trading in Europe, beginning with Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.