Malaysia bans Binance with 14 days notice to terminate operations
After the Chinese and Nigerian governments’ massive crackdown on cryptocurrencies, Malaysia is the latest to join the band as it issues a regulatory warning against Binance, accusing the cryptocurrency exchange giant of operating “illegally” in the country.
The Malaysian government’s official release came on July 30 as the Securities Commission (SC) issued a public reprimand against Binance, ordering it to “immediately cease all its entities and operations” in the country. The SC noted that Binance continued to function despite “previous warnings” while Binance was officially suspended in July 2020.
Back in July 2020, the SC had published an “Investor Alert List” containing names of several virtual trading and exchanges services within the country that were due authorization from the Malaysian government’s legal regulators.
According to the latest notice, Binance has 14 days of notice period starting August 3 to respond with compliance that includes disabling both its website and mobile apps, as well as discontinuing all sorts of advertising campaigns for Binance services in Malaysia. The announcement has also mandated full compliance from Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, in a formal statement. Additionally, Malaysia’s securities regulators have notified the citizens to refrain from trading with cryptocurrency exchanges operating illegally.
The news from Malaysia concerning the Binance ban is only the latest in regulatory orders specifically targeted at Binance. From alerts, crackdowns, warnings to investigations and now outright bans, the cryptocurrency operating within the ecosystem appear to be under the lens of financial watchdogs globally. Earlier this year, the governments of Italy, Poland, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom have also issued warnings against Binance.
For its part, Binance is actively seeking steps to mitigate the situation, as its CEO Zhao, promises “to work with regulators” in its global expansion plans. Meanwhile, the crypto exchange giant has also announced its plans to shutdown crypto exchanges and trading in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
