The Dutch Central Bank has fined cryptocurrency exchange Binance $3,3 million for operating without authorization.
The central bank published a statement stating that the exchange had violated its laws by offering cryptocurrency services in the Netherlands without registering with the bank, which is illegal.
A similar kind of warning was also issued against Binance, labeling its products “illegal.”
The regulatory agency noted that the fine’s base amount had increased due to “increasing severity and culpability.” However, it stated that the exchange’s application for regulation weighed in its favor, hence decreasing the overall amount of the penalties.
The reprimand issued by the Dutch agency indicates that European financial regulators have divergent approaches to the exchange.
In the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority stated that it did not believe Binance was capable of being overseen and warned that its “complex and high-risk financial products” constituted “a substantial risk to consumers.”
Binance is the largest crypto services provider in the world, with a daily trading volume of over $13.7 billion and a huge number of Dutch consumers.
A Binance representative told Reuters that the fine marked a “turning point” in the company’s continued partnership with the Dutch regulator. While the bank has not yet approved the exchange’s registration, it has reduced the fine by 5 percent because the company “has been somewhat upfront about its operations during the entire process.”
Binances’ Europe expansion ambitions
Countries such as Spain, France, and Italy have recently granted Binance permission to operate. Nonetheless, the European Parliament and EU states have recently chosen to tighten crypto regulations, with the new Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) law adding impediments to exchanges’ expansion aspirations.
According to documents filed with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, Binance Nederland BV was founded in October 2021 and has been held by Binance Holdings of Ireland since December 24 of the same year.
Binance stated that it would appeal against the fine.
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