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- Binance has experienced significant headwinds in European markets in the recent past with the Dutch and UK market out of the picture.
- The exchange has the highest verifiable Bitcoin balance of about 511,290 coins from over 140 million global registered users.
The Binance exchange’s global dominance in the cryptocurrency market is under huge threat following heightened regulatory scrutiny in several jurisdictions. The implosion of FTX and Alameda Research late last year has most regulators worried about more collapse in the crypto market.
Moreover, investors are often left stranded whenever a global exchange closes operations with users’ funds locked in their system. The situation is even direr for crypto users who frequently use the staking programs and have to rely on exchanges to lock their assets for yield farming.
Binance crypto exchange is currently fighting the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegedly operating an illegal securities offering in the country. Notably, SEC Chair Gary Gensler accused Binance and its CEO Changepeng Zhao of listing unregistered securities including Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), and Solana (SOL), among many others.
Consequently, Binance has quietly resolved to focus on global markets that are positively adopting the crypto market. This is after Binance-bid for a United Kingdom crypto license fell underwater recently.
Belgium Regulators Closes Doors for Binance
According to a report by the media outlet Reuters, the financial regulatory agency in Belgium, the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) ordered Binance to cease offering any virtual currency services in the country on Friday. Despite being a member of the European market that recently adopted the crypto market through the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations, Belgium has decided to regulate the industry further.
The Belgium regulator has warned Binance of providing crypto-related services including custody wallet without the necessary licenses. the FSMA noted.
Binance is offering and providing exchange services in Belgium between virtual currencies and legal currencies, as well as custody wallet services, from countries that are not members of the European Economic Area. The FSMA has therefore ordered Binance to cease, with immediate effect, offering or providing any and all such services in Belgium
Market Implications
The Binance ecosystem has already felt the implications of increased regulatory scrutiny with its native token down significantly from a month ago. According to our latest crypto market data, BNB’s price traded around $238 on Monday, down more than 22 percent in the past month. Notably, BNB had a reported market valuation of approximately $37 billion and a 24-hour traded volume of approximately $470 million.
Binance has faced significant headwinds since it implemented the BUSD swap from all stablecoins last year. Moreover, new BUSD stablecoins are no longer issued following the directive to Paxos to cease operations.
The future scalability of Binance to global markets is largely at stake as investors in respective markets push for local products. Moreover, the cryptocurrency industry is slated for more adoption globally with traditional investors looking for a chance to enter the market.
