As the year is inching close, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has secured an MSB license to offer cryptocurrency services from the Candian regulatory authorities. On the same day, the company also received in-principle approval from the central bank of Bahrain.
According to the official filing with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), Binance’s Canadian arm will be operating as Binance Canada Capital Markets. It will also engage in foreign exchange dealing, money transferring, and virtual currencies.
The exchange was incorporated as a domestic entity on December 1st, 2021, and the license is valid for the next four years, i.e., till December 31st, 2024.
Confirming the news, CZ tweeted:
2021 has been no less than a rollercoaster ride for Binance, which has been shunned by some of the most powerful regulatory authorities all over the world. In fact, its Turkey unit was recently fined over $750,000 by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) over violations found during liability inspections.
However, the latest development demonstrated that Binance is moving forward despite these hurdles as it looks to expand its global footprint. Apart from scoring an MSB license, the cryptocurrency exchange also received a heads up from a Gulf country.
Binance also announced receiving in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) to operate as a cryptocurrency service provider. The official press release stated that the green light comes after applying for a license from the regulatory entity to establish itself as a fully-regulated centralized cryptocurrency exchange.
With the latest development, CBB became the first entity in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region to give the green light to Binance. As part of the approval, the exchange will still need to complete the entire application process, which it expects to be completed in the “due course.” Speaking about the development, CZ noted,
“The CBB has been a progressive pioneer in developing a robust crypto-asset framework focusing on compliance with global standards of anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, transaction monitoring, consumer protection amongst others. It sets a benchmark bridging traditional financial systems and the crypto industry to facilitate safe adoption and deployment.”
Last week, Binance announced joining forces with Dubai World Trade Center Authority (DWTCA) to develop a cryptocurrency hub. The main objective behind the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the DWTCA is to ramp up the global crypto exchange’s efforts to build a digital asset ecosystem to generate long-term economic growth.