Germany to reject Binance’s bid for a cryptocurrency licence – source

FRANKFURT: German regulators have told Binance they will not grant it a cryptocurrency custody license, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said Thursday, the latest in a series of setbacks for the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Binance has come under pressure from regulators around the world. The US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao this month over what the regulator called a “network of deception” to evade US laws. Binance denies the charges.

German regulator BaFin issued a statement refusing to comment on individual companies due to confidentiality.

Binance said it would not share details of the talks with regulators, but added: "We continue to work to meet BaFin requirements."

He called it a "detailed and ongoing process" and said he was confident we had "the right equipment and measures to continue our discussions with regulators in Germany."

Finance Forward was the first to report the news of the German license.

The problems have been mounting for Binance in recent weeks.

Last week, Belgium's FSMA regulator ordered Binance to stop offering virtual currency services in the country.

France is also investigating Binance, which decided to exit the Dutch market because it was unable to meet registration requirements to operate as a virtual asset service provider.

BaFin in 2021 warned Binance that it risked being fined for offering certain digital tokens to customers in Germany without the necessary information.