Cayman Islands-headquartered crypto exchange Binance has witnessed a few ups and downs in the recent past. Talking about the wins, the purported world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange received an in-principle nod from Bahrain today.
Bahrain’s Central Bank has approved Binance’s application to be the crypto-asset provider in the country, said a statement from Binance.
One of the officials from Bahrain’s central bank said that the regulatory approval, which will be the first in the Middle East and North Africa region, might also push Binance to set up its headquarters in Manama.
The second regulatory approval for Binance came from Canada. The Canadian regulatory authorities approved a money services business (MSB) license that will enable Binance to engage in foreign exchange dealing, money transferring, and digital currencies under a new name Binance Canada Capital Markets.
Binance has already signed a deal with Dubai’s World Trade Center for virtual asset regulation and is also pitching the UAE government to set up its headquarters in Dubai.
Despite some wins in the region, Binance has faced a few troubles in Singapore, Turkey, the United States, and China. Earlier this month, Binance left Singapore due to regulatory issues.
Turkey’s financial crime regulator MASAK has slapped a fine of US$750,000 on Binance today, and the crypto firm was under investigation in the United States for tax fraud and money laundering in May 2021.
Founded in China in 2017, the Binance website is now blocked in China due to regulatory issues. However, Binance annual exchange volumes have gone up from US$59 billion to US$7.7 trillion in 2021.
The number of Binance users have jumped from 1.5 million in 2017 to 28.6 million users in 2021, and the company’s profits have increased from US$7.5 million in 2017 to US$900 million in 2021.
With a strong positive sentiment in the GCC regarding crypto assets, Binance is likely to have a firm grip on this region’s crypto-economy growth for the years to come.
Binance gets nod to become crypto asset service provider in Bahrain
- The regulatory approval, the first in the Middle East and North Africa region, may push Binance to set up its headquarters in Manama
- The second regulatory approval for Binance has come from Canada, which has approved a money services business license