Changpeng Zhao, chief executive officer of Binance announced that France’s market regulator, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) registered the exchange as a digital service provider (DASP) last May 4, 2022.
In the latest cryptocurrency update, France is the first major European country to allow Binance to operate within its jurisdiction. Moreover, the exchange is the first crypto platform to be licensed as a DASP in the country.
Binance is considered one of the largest crypto exchanges in the global market. According to a report made by CNBC, it can handle trading volumes of more than US$14 billion a day as of writing.
However, the exchange has faced regulatory hurdles in different parts of the world, including Europe in the past. It went so far as government authorities warning consumers about the exchange and the risks involved in trading crypto.
International regulators including those in Germany, Italy and Britain accused Binance of operating without a license in their jurisdiction. Moreover, the Dutch Central Bank also said that the exchange lacked the required legal registration to provide services in their country, the Netherlands.
Despite this, French regulatory authorities pushed through with registering the exchange as a DASP and have been deemed the first one to do so among hesitations with neighbouring European countries.
This move also allowed Binance to move to a new phase of educating the French public on the technology of blockchain as mentioned by the exchange’s French General Manager David Prinçay.
Moreover, Prinçay also said that Binance is now seeking a formal license from the French market regulators to open a regional headquarters in the country. Formerly, the exchange had no official headquarters and took pride in this fact. The backlash from regulatory authorities has changed the tide for the exchange.
Aside from Prinçay, Zhao also told CNBC in April that the company has been planning to establish its European headquarters in Paris, France.
‘In our interactions with them, they are far more advanced in their understanding, and they’re also much more progressive in their attitudes,’ Zhao said to CNBC.
‘France is a very strict regulator. But they have the advanced understandings to go with that,’ he added.
In addition to this, Zhao also pledged to invest €100 million in France and would grant €2 million for a restoration project in Château de Versailles.
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