According to DNB, Binance is operating illegally in the Netherlands. After having been in the news a few times in a negative way, it has happened again: According to the DNB (De Nederlandsche Bank), Binance is allegedly operating illegally in the Netherlands. (Source: https://www.dnb.nl/actueel/algemeen-nieuws/nieuwsberichten-2021/waarschuwing-van-dnb-tegen-binance/)
The DNB would possibly take action against Binance, but the spokeswoman cannot reveal any information about this as yet. According to the DNB, Dutch citizens who use the crypto services offered by Binance are not doing anything wrong. This is purely about the fact that Binance is acting in violation of the law. However, they may be at increased risk of becoming involved in money laundering or terrorist financing, according to the regulator.
To explain further:
Binance is acting in violation of the WWFT (Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act), by illegally offering (1) services for exchanging between virtual currency and fiduciary currency, and (2) deposit wallets.
If you are curious about which crypto services are supervised by the DNB, you can find out for yourself here. As it’s in Dutch, you may need to use a translation tool.
Something that has been known for some time is the fact that Binance goes to great lengths to get out from under scrutiny. For example, the company is officially based in the Cayman Islands. There is an office in Singapore, but they have no official headquarters. According to founder Changpeng Zao (CZ), this is because Binance operates decentrally, as do the coins that can be traded on the platform.
DNB is not the first regulator to take action against Binance now. Last month the Consob (regulator of Italian stock exchanges) already said that what Binance does is not allowed. In addition to money laundering, the company is also suspected of collaborating in tax evasion. Binance denies this, however.
The reason why the DNB has only come up with a judgment now is because the DNB first had to investigate the case thoroughly itself. Binance states in a response that the company hopes to receive approval from the DNB in the future. The company adds that it has tools and procedures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Alternative exchanges
Binance remains a good exchange with a trading volume of $30 billion per day for now. So it is convenient to create a Binance account. If you’re interested in doing so, then check out this page.
However, there are also many alternatives to Binance. For example: KuCoin, Ascendex, and Coinbase. You can read more about them in our earlier article.
