• Binance announced that it is exiting the Netherlands after failing to secure a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license with the Dutch regulator.
• The exchange will stop accepting new users from the country as of June 16 and existing Dutch residents will only be able to withdraw their assets from July 17.
• Last summer, Binance was fined $3.4 million by the Dutch central bank for operating without registration.
Binance Exits Netherlands
Binance has recently announced its departure from the Netherlands after being unable to secure a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license with the Dutch regulator. Starting June 16, Binance will no longer accept new users residing in the country, while existing Dutch resident users can withdraw their assets from July 17th onwards.
Failed VASP License
The major roadblock to its global expansion plans, Binance failed to obtain a VASP license in order to continue providing services within the Netherlands market. Although they explored many alternatives to comply with Dutch regulations, unfortunately this did not result in obtaining a valid VASP registration at this point in time.
$3.4 M Fine
This announcement follows a $3.4 million fine received by Binance last summer from the Dutch central bank for operating without registering with them first. This latest decision has been made despite that hefty fine imposed on them earlier on in 2020 and marks yet another hurdle for crypto giant’s global expansion plans going forward.
User Action Required
In response to their departure, Binance have urged users residing in the Netherlands to take appropriate action by withdrawing all assets from their accounts within the given timeframe before July 17th 2021 when access will be fully blocked off for those users still remaining on their platform based out of Holland .
Conclusion
Although regulatory issues have hindered some of Binance’s operations elsewhere such as within US jurisdiction; it appears that these same legal matters have also led them away from expanding further into Europe via markets such as Holland where they were met with difficulty when trying to acquire adequate licensing permissions needed for continued viable operations there also .