Hassan Maishera
Leading cryptocurrency Binance has been banned in Malaysia for operating illegally in the country. It has now been given 14 days to cease operations and leave the Asian nation.
Malaysian authorities ban Binance
Binance is facing further regulatory woes, but this time it is coming from Malaysia. The cryptocurrency exchange has been banned from operating in the country, with the regulators stating that it is operating illegally in Malaysia.
The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) announced this in a press release earlier today. The regulator stated that “The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) today announced enforcement actions against Binance for illegally operating a Digital Asset Exchange (DAX). Under Sections 7(1) and 34(1) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, all DAX operators must be registered as Recognized Market Operators (RMO) by the SC. Accordingly, the SC has issued a public reprimand against Binance for continuing to operate illegally in Malaysia despite being included in the SC’s Investor Alert List in July 2020.”
The regulatory agency is now advising Malaysians to stay away from Binance and its services. The SC said the warning was issued to t Binance Holdings Limited (Registered in the Cayman Islands), its CEO Zhao Changpeng, namely Binance Digital Limited (Registered in the UK), Binance UAB (Registered in Lithuania) and Binance Asia Services Pte Ltd (Registered in Singapore).
Following this order, all the entities have been asked to disable the Binance website (www.binance.com) and mobile applications in Malaysia over the next two weeks. They should also cease all media and marketing activities to Malaysian investors and immediately restrict Malaysian investors from accessing Binance’s Telegram group.
This latest development is a fresh challenge for Binance after facing similar actions in the United Kingdom. The ban was issued by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), leading some financial institutions like Barclays and Santander to block Binance deposits. The Italian regulators also issued similar warnings to Binance.
