Media: German regulator to deny Binance a crypto-custodian licence

The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) will not grant Binance a licence to provide cryptocurrency custody services. This is reported by Finance Forward, citing sources.

It is not known to the publication whether the decision has been formally issued or whether the agency signalled it during talks with the company.

A BaFin spokesperson declined to comment, citing internal policy.

«Although we cannot share details of our discussions with regulators, we continue to work on meeting BaFin’s requirements. We are confident that we have the right team and measures to continue our negotiations with the German supervisory authorities,” Binance said.

Journalists noted that the regulator’s lack of approval would mean an advertising ban for the services, which could affect long-term growth. The Binance crypto app in the country remains active and is one of the largest by user numbers — around 2 million.

On June 5, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against the exchange and its CEO Changpeng Zhao. Against this backdrop, regulatory pressure on the company in Europe intensified.

Binance withdrew applications for licences in the United Kingdom, Austria, in Cyprus, announced its exit from the Netherlands. The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority ordered the exchange to immediately cease providing services .

According to CoinDesk, Binance’s European banking partner — Paysafe Payment Solutions — will cease servicing the platform from September 25.

«Our users will need to update the bank details used to make deposits on Binance, and may have to accept new terms to continue using SEPA services after this date,” the crypto company said.

In November 2022, BaFin ordered its German subsidiary Coinbase to ensure proper organisation of the business, citing regulatory violations.

In June, the SEC filed a lawsuit against the American cryptocurrency exchange a day after issuing its complaints against Binance.