Binance restricts product offering in Malaysia
About a fortnight after Malaysia’s Securities Commission announced enforcement actions against Binance for illegally operating a Digital Asset Exchange (DAX), the cryptocurrency exchange has announced that it is restricting its offering in Malaysia.
In an announcement on its website, Binance says that it will cease the following products and offerings in Malaysia on 2021-08-16 at 04:00 UTC (12:00 PM UTC+8).
- MYR trading pairs
- MYR payment options
- P2P merchant applications.
Let’s recall that, under Sections 7(1) and 34(1) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, all DAX operators must be registered as Recognized Market Operators (RMO) by the SC. Accordingly, the SC has issued a public reprimand against Binance for continuing to operate illegally in Malaysia despite being included in the SC’s Investor Alert List in July 2020.
In this regard, the public reprimand was issued against Binance Holdings Limited (Registered in the Cayman Islands), its CEO Zhao Changpeng, as well as three other Binance entities, namely Binance Digital Limited, Binance UAB, and Binance Asia Services Pte Ltd.
All four Binance entities have been ordered by the SC to:
- disable the Binance website (www.binance.com) and mobile applications in Malaysia within 14 business days from 26 July 2021;
- immediately cease all media and marketing activities, including circulating, publishing or sending any advertisements and/or other marketing material, whether via emails or otherwise, to Malaysian investors; and
- immediately restrict Malaysian investors from accessing Binance’s Telegram group.
Zhao, as the CEO of Binance Holdings Limited, has also been specifically ordered to ensure that the above directives are carried out.
Below is the full announcement by Binance:
“Fellow Binancians,
As Binance constantly evaluates its product and service offerings to remain compliant with local regulations, we will cease the following products and offerings in Malaysia on 2021-08-16 at 04:00 UTC (12:00 PM UTC+8).
- MYR trading pairs
- MYR payment options
- P2P merchant applications
Binance P2P will remove MYR trading pairs on Friday, 2021-08-13 13:00 UTC (21:00 UTC+8). Users are advised to complete all related P2P trades and remove related trade advertisements by 2021-08-13 12:00 PM UTC (20:00 UTC+8) to avoid potential trading disputes.
Please note we are also not operating any Telegram channel or online communication channels in Malaysia.
Our aim is to create a sustainable ecosystem around blockchain technology and digital assets. Binance welcomes developments to our industry’s regulatory framework as they pose opportunities for the market players to have greater collaboration with the regulators. We are committed to working constructively in policy-making that seeks to benefit every user”.