According to a Friday letter from Belgium’s top market regulator, the troubled cryptocurrency exchange Binance must immediately stop providing services to local clients.In Belgium, Binance is “offering and providing exchange services between virtual currencies and legal currencies, as well as custody wallet services, from countries that are not members of the European Economic Area,” according to the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), which the regulator claims is against the law.
“The FSMA has therefore ordered Binance to cease, with immediate effect, offering or providing any and all such services in Belgium,” the notice said.
As it fights U.S. SEC claims that it broke securities laws and now learned that French authorities are looking into it, Binance is in the regulatory firing line.Due to regulatory concerns, the exchange also left markets in the European Economic Area like Cyprus and the Netherlands. A representative for Binance said in a statement released after the publication of this article, “We are unhappy to learn that the FSMA has made this decision despite our ongoing negotiations.We are examining the specifics of their notification, and we will keep cooperating with international and Belgian regulators in accordance with our commitments.