Germany rejects Binance’s request for crypto license: Report

• It was unclear if the rejection was a formal decision or an intention told verbally in discussions.
• Binance is facing regulatory trouble across Europe, in addition to the U.S.

Germany’s financial regulator has rejected Binance’s request for a crypto custody license. Finance Forward, a German publication, reported the news recently, citing people familiar with the matter.

The report added that it was unclear if the rejection was the result of a formal decision taken by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) or an intention expressed verbally in ongoing discussions.

BaFin’s denial hampers Binance’s advertising plans in the country. The national law only permits licensed firms to advertise in the country.

No respite in Europe either

After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Binance, the world’s leading crypto exchange is facing trouble across several countries in Europe.

Germany has rejected Binance’s license request. Binance had withdrawn its request for regulatory crypto approval in Austria. It has also given up its registration with regulatory bodies in the United Kingdom

and Cyprus.

It opted to quit the Netherlands after failing to register there. Belgium also ordered the exchange to suspend its operations in the country. The French authorities are also investigating the exchange on “aggravated money laundering” charges.

Binance recently lost its European banking partner Paysafe Payment Solutions, a global payment service provider. Paysafe will halt its services to Binance across the European Economic Area (EEA), beginning 25 September.

The exchange is looking for a new European partner now. It will replace the Euro-denominated deposit and withdrawal service provider via bank transfer (SEPA).

Binance declared its focus on the European market and to become compliant with the Market’s Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations. The new regulation will allow crypto firms to operate throughout the single European market by winning regulatory approval in one of those markets.

Binance’s spot trading market share hit

near a one-year low in June 2023, as per data from research firm Kaiko. Binance’s market share stood at 55.9% in June. The figure was nearly the same as the last two months. But the slight dip this month made it hit the lowest point since August 2022, when it was at 53.7%.

As per Defillama, Binance was still the largest holder of customer tokens at press time, with $59.12 billion in reserves.