Details behind Binance’s failed efforts to register for a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in the Netherlands remain unclear due to the confidentiality requirements of the Dutch central bank’s supervision laws.
On June 16, Binance announced that it would terminate its services in the Netherlands with immediate effect, after it failed to obtain full clearance from De Nederlandse Bank (DNB). From July 17, only Dutch clients will be able to withdraw assets from the platform, while trading and deposits were halted on the date of the announcement.
Binance claims to have gone through a “comprehensive registration application process” to obtain a VASP license in the Netherlands and is exploring “alternative ways” to serve Dutch residents in the country. The stock exchange indicated that it will continue its efforts to obtain a license to provide its services and products in the country.
Cointelegraph reached out to Tobias Oudejans, DNB’s press officer for supervision, fintech, cryptocurrency, settlement and payment systems, to confirm the final details of Binance’s failed registry effort.
Oudejans said that the central bank could not share more details about Binance’s registration due to regulatory requirements:
“Because of the confidentiality required by our oversight laws, we can’t make anything clear about our oversight of individual institutions or the potential licensing pathways they may be in.”
Oudejans added that the DNB wanted to emphasize that its perceived silence on this specific supervisory finding and similar issues “may be wrongly attributable to a unwillingness to comment”, but that it was required under Dutch laws.
Binance would have joined the list of 35 VASPs registered with DNB. This includes the likes of Coinbase Custody International, Coinbase Europe, eToro (Europe), BitPay, and Bitstamp.
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Oudejans said the requirements for VASP registration in the Netherlands are in line with similar requirements for other financial institutions under DNB supervision. These are based on Dutch AML/CFT law.
implementation of the European Union The recently published Markets in Crypto Asset Regulation (MiCA) could provide Binance with an alternative means of operating in the Netherlands by 2024. As Oudejans explained, the global exchange could gain access to the Dutch market if it meets the necessary requirements in another EU member state. :
“It is not yet clear how MiCA will be implemented in the Netherlands, but in reality it appears that it will be a different law than the WWFT and perhaps at the European level there may be access to the Dutch market for entities registered from other EU countries.”
Binance has already indicated that it is stepping up its efforts to be fully compliant with the new EU rules laid out in MiCA.
Binance was fined €3.3 million ($3.6 million) by DNB in July 2022 for operating without a permit in the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, Coinbase received the go-ahead from DNB in September 2022 as it began exploring expansion beyond the US and Europe. The US exchange is locked in a major legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that it was operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker and clearing agency.
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