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The United Arab Emirates is becoming the next big focus for Binance in the wake of a slew of enforcement actions in the United States against the crypto exchange.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Binance Dubai general manager Alex Chehade said the UAE is a prime destination for crypto businesses seeking a clear path forward and noted its friendly stance toward digital assets.

Binance identified that the senior leadership of the UAE wanted to establish the region as a focal point for Web3. Theyre trying to diversify away from fossil fuels and they see [crypto] as a great driver for doing so, said Chehade

Ultimately, the clear crypto regulations in the UAE make the region attractive to exchanges like Binance, which is currently wrestling with legal disputes from regulators in the U.S., including the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

Binance is here [in the UAE] because weve been given the surety that we can set up operations and build for the future, he explained, adding:

Chehade noted the UAEs Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) as a key driving force behind the surge of crypto-related interest in the region.

Theres a clear framework for people and businesses to engage with, whereas youre just not seeing as much of that elsewhere, he said.

Beyond regulation, Chehade said the influx of young people moving to the UAE could see the region more rapidly adopt crypto than other digital asset hubs.

The two key drivers are that lots of expatriates are moving here from Europe and Asia, and the overall demographic is younger as well and we know that younger people have a more favorable mindset when it comes to virtual assets.

Merkle Science CEO Mriganka Pattnaik also praised the regulatory landscape in the UAE, noting that VARA, as the worlds first virtual asset-specific regulator, provides very detailed compliance guidelines for firms working under its purview.

Related: Dubais VARA approves OKX preparatory license as part of exchanges expansion plans

Theres more interaction with the private sector and regulators because its a smaller, early-stage ecosystem, Pattnaik told Cointelegraph. Its also easier to hire teams in the UAE or just build out a team of 100 people, all of whom dont come from the region.

On February 7, VARA released its Full Market Product Regulations, which include four compulsory, activity-specific rulebooks that lay down the rules for virtual asset service providers operating in Dubai.

Binance received a preparatory minimal viable product license from VARA in September 2021.

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Binance eyes United Arab Emirates as focal point for future operations - Cointelegraph

(Bloomberg) -- Binance is reeling under the impact of increased regulatory scrutiny, with the exchange platforms market share languishing near a one-year low, according to data from research firm Kaiko.

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Binances spot trading market share was little changed at 56% through June 19 from each of the two months prior, Kaiko data showed. Thats the lowest since August, when it fell to 53.7%, Kaiko said. The worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange suffered a blow after the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against the firm and its founder Changpeng Zhao on June 5.

Its daily market share plunged to as low as 47% on on April 6, just after a separate lawsuit from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The pressure on crypto exchanges like Binance has also increased after deep-pocketed traditional finance players like BlackRock Inc. applied for permission to start offering spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, seeking to lure investors looking for regulated institutions.

Centralized exchanges will find themselves in a squeeze between decentralized exchanges and traditional-finance players entering the market, said Alex Svanevik, chief executive officer of crypto intelligence firm Nansen.

Read more: Why Crypto Flinches When SEC Calls Coins Securities: QuickTake

US-based Coinbase, which is also being sued by the SEC, has seen its market share fall to 6.8% in June from 7.6% in January. Binances US entity lost almost all its market share after the lawsuits from the CFTC and the SEC, according to Kaiko. Binances share of trading in euro pairs has also tumbled, Kaiko data showed.

Binances market share has also been hurt after it halted a popular zero-fee promotion in March. The exchange recently announced a new promotion for stablecoins, including True USD, BUSD, Tethers USDT and Circles USDC, starting June 30.

Story continues

A spokesperson for Binance said the company will continue to maintain our strong financial performance. Our primary objective is to deliver for our users by maturing our products and services and continuing to invest in compliance processes for a new era of regulatory certainty.

Binance is far from the only centralized exchange hurting. Overall global trading volume has shrunk across crypto exchanges as the regulatory onslaught dented investor sentiment.

The regulatory risk applies to all centralized exchanges. Binance is bearing the brunt of regulatory actions, said Cici Lu, founder of blockchain adviser Venn Link Partners. Its going to be challenging times ahead for Binance to regain market share while meeting compliance requirements.

Regulatory Woes

The onslaught of regulatory and banking hurdles has forced Binance to exit several countries. The company announced its exit from the Netherlands on June 16, citing a failed registration attempt. It was also probed by French authorities earlier this month, after it established the country as its European base. On June 23, Belgian authorities ordered Binance to cease operations there.

In April, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission canceled Binances license for its derivatives business. Local banks and payment partners later halted their services to Binance Australia. And last month Binance said it was going to exit Canada after the country began rolling out new crypto regulations.

Size Advantage

Yet even after losing market share for most of 2023, Binance remains bigger than all other crypto exchanges combined. That gives Zhaos firm an added advantage of offering deeper market liquidity and trading.

Binance is also the biggest holder of customer tokens with reserves of $59.2 billion, according to crypto data provider DefiLlama.

Without other sounder alternatives available currently, investors might still see Binance as the go-to exchange for transaction purposes, as it has the track record of providing the highest liquidity and market depth for trading which could limit the downside to their market share, Lu of Venn Link Partners, said.

--With assistance from Sidhartha Shukla.

(Adds comment from Binance in seventh paragraph.)

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Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.

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Bitcoin's 'Great Accumulation,' Binance.US resumes withdrawals... - Cointelegraph

Belgian authorities ordered Binance to cease operations in the country, joining a growing roster of European and US regulators to act against the worlds largest crypto exchange.

Belgiums Financial Services and Markets Authority said that Binance is providing trading and wallet custody services in Belgium from countries that are not members of the European Economic Area, which is prohibited.

The agency demanded that Binance take immediate measure to return all Belgian clients their cryptographic keys and virtual currencies that Binance holds for their account, or transfer them to authorized services. Binance, run by Changpeng Zhao, considers itself a virtual company without a headquarters.

The Crown Prosecutor of Brussels has been informed of the acts that are liable to constitute a criminal offense, the agency said in a statement Friday.

We are disappointed to learn that the FSMA has come to this decision despite our ongoing conversations. We are reviewing the details of their notice and will continue to work collaboratively with regulators in Belgium and around the world in compliance with our obligations, Binance said in a statement.

Binance recentlyleftthe Netherlands after being unable to register with the Dutch regulator. Earlier this month, the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance, Zhao and a US entity Binance.US he also controls for blatant disregard of securities law, including mishandling customer funds and misleading investors and regulators. French authorities are investigating Binance for the alleged illegal provision of digital-asset services and acts of aggravated money laundering.

In March, Binancesuspendeddeposit and withdrawal services via bank transfers and card payment for UK customers after its local banking partner stopped providing support for transactions in British pound. In May, Binance Australialostaccess to some Aussie dollar deposit services and warned of disruptions to bank transfer withdrawals.

While the European Unions MiCA, or Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, will introduce more general rules governing activities relating to crypto-assets, these rules will only go into effect in January 2025.

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Binance told to cease operations in Belgium, with officials citing acts that are liable to constitute a criminal offense - Fortune

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The financial regulator in Belgium, the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) had forced the cryptocurrency exchange Binance to halt its services in the country alleging that the exchange has violated the law by serving Belgian customers from countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

The FSMA has noted that 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, the FSMA said in a statement.

According to the statement, companies that are from countries outside the EEA are prohibited from offering exchange services between virtual currencies and legal currencies to customers within Belgium.

The FMSA is blaming the exchange for violating Article 136 of the Belgian Law and thus imposing sanctions to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.

A Binance spokesperson said in a statement to CoinDesk: We are disappointed to learn that the FSMA has come to this decision despite our ongoing conversations. We are reviewing the details of their notice and will continue to work collaboratively with regulators in Belgium and around the world in compliance with our obligations.

Last week, Binance was forced to exit the Dutch market following its unsuccessful attempt to obtain a virtual asset service provider (VASP) from the Dutch regulator.

In addition, the company was also forced to close its services in Cyprus.

According to a statement published by the countrys regulator, the Cyprus Securities and Commission (CySEC), Binance was under examination for application for deregistration.

Binance is registered and operating in six European countries including France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania. However, the company is under investigation in France for allegedly providing digital asset services in an illegal manner.

In the past 24 hours, the BNB cryptocurrency has won around 0.55% of its value back since falling down to $241.79 on 23 June to $245.16 on the morning of 24 June, data on CoinMarketCap showed.

In the past week, however, the cryptocurrency has seen minor losses, down by 0.19% from highs of $248 on 18 June.

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Binance Forced to Stop Providing Crypto Services in Belgium by ... - Cryptonews