Germany’s Largest Federal Bank To Offer Crypto Custody to Institutional Clients: Report

April 15, 2024 The Daily Hodl

Crypto exchange Binance reopens exchange services in Belgium

September 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

In June, Binance was ordered to halt its services in Belgium "with immediate effect," leading to the exchange redirecting Belgian users to its Binance Poland entity.

Crypto exchange Binance has reopened registrations and access to its products and services for its Belgian crypto users again — three months after the exchange was ordered by Belgium’s finance regulator to cease cryptocurrency-related services.

“New registrations of Belgian residents are welcome on our platform once again,” Binance confirmed in a Sept. 25 post on X (formerly Twitter). Binance said various Binance products and services will become accessible again to Belgian users who have accepted the new Terms of Use.

Great news for our Belgian community

We've now reopened registrations and access to #Binance products and services in Belgium. https://t.co/IActiqYMjm
— Binance (@binance) September 25, 2023

On June 23, the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority accused Binance of violating Belgium’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws for allegedly offering crypto-related services “from countries that are not members of the European Economic Area.”

It ordered Binance to cease all related services in Belgium “with immediate effect," and was required to contact all its Belgium-based clients and return all crypto and private keys the exchange held.

The ordeal led Binance to divert its services for Belgians through Binance Poland sp. z o.o. — Binance’s Polish-registered arm, which it had registered as a virtual asset service provider in January.

Binance's statement did not discuss what changes were made to allow it to resume services for Belgian users. Cointelegraph has reached out to Binance and Belgium’s FSMA for comment.

Elsewhere in Europe, Binance has signaled plans to delist stablecoins for the European market by June 2024 as a means to comply with the European Union’s incoming Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation, which is set to come into effect in June 2024.

Meanwhile, in the United States, a mass exodus of Binance.US executives has prompted some industry pundits to ponder whether the firm is experiencing some internal issues.

However the firm’s CEO, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao has refuted those rumors on several occasions.

Magazine: Binance’s exec exodus, Nasdaq to trade AI orders and SBF loses bail appeal: Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 3–9

EU Council approves MiCA for clear crypto regulation

May 16, 2023 Coin Telegraph

approved.

European Union Council finance ministers vote to adopt the continent’s Markets in Crypto-Assets legislation following unanimous approval of new legal frameworks.

European Union Council members have given the final green light on the highly-anticipated Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation following a voting process on May 16.

27 Finance ministers representing the EU's member states voted in favor of passing the MiCA bill as well as amendments to a number of regulations and directives relating to the new legislation.

Two more pieces of legislation, including regulation on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets, were also adopted by the EU parliament in conjunction with MiCA’s adoption.

The European Parliament formally adopted the MiCA legislation on April 20, paving the way for final approval by the European Council before the regulatory parameters take effect.

The legislation sets down clear regulatory guidelines and requirements for the use of cryptocurrencies and related services and activities across the European Union. The scope of the legislation covers a range of cryptocurrencies, digital assets, utility tokens and stablecoins.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

France mulls fast-tracking registered crypto firms to new EU rules

April 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

AMF

France's financial regulator is weighing up “fast track” options for registered firms so they can be compliant with MiCA rules as soon as possible.

A “fast track” option for licensed crypto firms in France to get regulated under the upcoming Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) laws has been mulled by the country’s financial regulator.

In a statement published on April 21, the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) welcomed the approval of MiCA and outlined how French regulation will proceed during the transitory period over the next 18 months.

A key focus for the AMF will be guiding the switch over to MiCA regulation for French providers of digital asset services (PSANs).

The AMF stated that it is currently weighing up “fast track” options for these firms so that they can be compliant with MiCA regulations as soon as possible.

*A French and English translated version of AMF’s tweet on April 24, 12:30 pm UTC sharing its statement on proposed transitions to MiCA rules. Source: Twitter*

In terms of MiCA compliance, the AMF is looking to plug the gap relating to aspects such as fund provision regulations of crypto firms, conflict of interest policies and the alignment of requested documents required under AMF and MiCA regulation.

To the general pleasure of the crypto industry, the European Parliament voted in favor of passing the MiCA regulatory package on April 20.

Moving forward, MiCA now needs approval from the European Council in July to be officially adopted as regulation.

The regulation is tentatively slated to come into effect from the start of 2025 and aims to establish a clear and consistent regulatory framework for crypto assets among the European Union (EU) member states.

In France, crypto firms have two licensing options; a “simple” option offering relaxed requirements, and a more stringent “enhanced” option, which is favored by the government and is reported to be closely aligned with MiCA regulations already.

The stricter option has greater controls surrounding anti-money laundering rules, customer asset custody, reporting to regulators and providing detailed risk and conflict of interest disclosures as a means to strengthen consumer protection.

All 60 of the AMF-registered crypto firms in France are regulated under the relaxed option and will remain that way until they are ported over to MiCA regulation.

The AMF has previously stated that any crypto firm that registers after January 2024 will have to do so under the more stringent option.

Notably, the AMF also outlined that any company regulated under either category will only be able to offer its services in France until they are ported over to MiCA.

“These actors will be able, during this period, to continue to offer their services to the French public only,” the statement reads, adding that “service providers who are approved under the MiCA regulation will be able to benefit from the European passport and provide their services in all EU countries.”

Magazine: Bitcoin in Senegal: Why is this African country using BTC?

EU lawmakers push for stricter rules on anonymous crypto transfers

March 29, 2023 Coin Telegraph

AMLA

The legislation was one of several laws designed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, receiving 99 votes in favor, eight votes against, and six abstentions.

European Union lawmakers have adopted new draft legislation that would impose a 1000 euro ($1,083) cap on anonymous crypto asset transfers in a bid to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

According to a European Parliament statement published on March 28, the limit would apply to a crypto asset transfer in cases when a customer can’t be identified. Cash transactions will also be capped at 7,000 euros ($7,585).

The AML/CTF package is set to be confirmed in a plenary session in April. After that, negotiations on the final shape of the bills will begin, it said.

Aujourd’hui a eu lieu un vote important au @Europarl_EN dans le domaine de la lutte contre le blanchiment d’argent et le financement du terrorisme.

Cela concerne notamment les #NFT et les plateformes de cryptos. Thread pic.twitter.com/qP95NsQ3Cw
— Aurore Lalucq (@AuroreLalucq) March 28, 2023

It was noted that the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), which was formed in June 2022, would eventually enforce the rules.

“For us, it is important the new authority cooperates very closely with national supervisors and that it directly supervises the riskiest crypto asset service providers and companies in the financial sector that operate in several member states,” said Emil Radev, co-rapporteur for the AMLA.

The text relating to the use of anonymous instruments, including crypto assets, was overwhelmingly approved by lawmakers — “with 99 votes to 8 and 6 abstentions.”

The newly adopted texts indicate that the introduction of the bill will require a greater level of transparency and compliance, particularly from crypto-asset managers. It noted:

“Entities, such as banks, assets and crypto assets managers, real and virtual estate agents and high-level professional football clubs, will be required to verify their customers’ identity, what they own and who controls the company.”

It was also noted that these industries will need to establish specific types of risks associated with money laundering and terrorist financing within their business area and relay this relevant information to a centralized registry.

This comes after the European Banking Federation (EBF) released a paper on March 28 detailing its vision for the digital money ecosystem of the future, and the retail digital euro in particular.

The EBF proposed a three-tiered model for the digital euro, including a European Central Bank role and two industry levels — the first to interact with the single Euro Payments Area and an “Industry Level B” that would be subsequently developed and operated by the private sector.

In related news, the final vote on the European Union’s set of crypto rules, known as the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, was recently deferred to April 2023.

This is not the first time European lawmakers have rescheduled the procedure, having previously pushed it back from November 2022 to February 2023.

Magazine: The secret of pitching to male VCs: Helping female crypto founders blast off

France on the verge of passing stringent crypto firm licensing laws

March 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The bill was passed with a vote of 109 in favor and 71 against and will now rely on the approval of president Emmanuel Macron to be signed into law.

The French National Assembly has voted in favor of legislating stricter licensing rules for new cryptocurrency firms in order to harmonize local laws with proposed European Union (EU) standards.

The vote was passed with 109 votes (60.5%) in favor to 71 (39.5%) against. The French Senate has already passed the bill, which now goes to President Emmanuel Macron, who has 15 days to either approve it or send it back to the legislature.

✅ Projet de loi DDADUE dans les domaines de l’économie, de la santé, du travail, des transports et de l’agriculture | Adoption par l’Assemblée nationale, compte tenu du texte de la commission mixte paritaire.
En savoir plus ➡️ https://t.co/CDlQxPrs1b #DirectAN pic.twitter.com/PZ2uuC4MrS
— Assemblée nationale (@AssembleeNat) February 28, 2023

If passed, the new law would oblige France-based cryptocurrency service providers to comply with stricter anti-money laundering rules, show that customer funds are segregated, adhere to new guidelines on reporting to regulators and provide more detailed risk and conflict of interest disclosures as a means to strengthen consumer protection.

The contents of the bill would not, however, apply to the 60 crypto firms registered with the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), the nation’s financial regulator. These firms will continue to comply with the AMF’s rules until the likely passing of the EU’s own crypto regulations with the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) bill.

The stricter rules would therefore only apply to crypto firms that register from July onwards.

Among the 60-AMF registered companies include Binance, which recently began piloting in-store payments in France with the cloud-based payment platform Ingenico via Binance Pay.

Crypto payments just got easier in France

We've recently partnered with @ingenico, a global payment solutions provider, to enable users to pay in crypto through #Binance Pay.

Another milestone for global crypto adoption pic.twitter.com/S8f8Pab7nW
— Binance (@binance) February 22, 2023

The legislative push for stricter licensing rules was initiated by Hervé Maurey, a member of the French Senate’s finance commission, who in Decemberproposed an amendment to eliminate a clause enabling crypto companies to operate without a full license until 2026.

Bank of France governor, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, also pushed the agenda in a Jan. 5 speech to members of the finance sector in Paris.

Like many regulators around the world, Villeroy de Galhau cited the need to respond to the recent turmoil in the cryptocurrency market as the motive behind the bill, which he wants to come into effect “as soon as possible.”

While MiCA will likely serve as the blueprint for cryptocurrency market regulation in the EU, he added that France simply couldn’t wait around for the more comprehensive laws enacting the licensing regime on digital asset service providers..

The EU is set to finally vote on MiCA regulation in April after two postponements. A successful outcome would likely see the highly anticipated crypto laws come into force sometime during 2024.

MiCA legislation good news for crypto players — Binance Europe VP

November 8, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Binance

The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets legislation could create an easier environment for exchanges to operate in, according to Binance’s vice president of Europe.

Smaller cryptocurrency exchanges and start-ups could benefit from the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) regulation, according to Martin Bruncko, Binance’s executive vice president of Europe.

Cointelegraph had a one-on-one interview with Martin Bruncko during the Web Summit conference in Lisbon early in November 2022. Heading up Binance’s operations across Europe, Bruncko offered unique insights into the exchange’s growth across the continent and its perspective on the regulatory environment.

The European Parliament Committee passed the MiCA crypto policy on Oct. 10, which aims to create a one-size-fits-all regulatory framework for the industry across the 27 countries that make up the European Union.

Bruncko told Cointelegraph that the European crypto landscape is currently fragmented, with all 27 countries in Europe having different regulatory regimes ranging from “fairly restrictive to non-existent.” This has led to time-consuming and financially demanding requirements for exchanges to ensure that they are fully compliant in different jurisdictions:

“This is exactly the issue right now and this is why we’re actually, I would say almost excited about MiCA, because it’s creating a single market.”

Bruncko stressed that the current landscape hamstrung smaller players that were looking to scale across the continent, given the costs of ensuring compliance across different borders:

“In principle, it’s good news for every crypto player in Europe because, again, now you can just operate within one single market. It’s just making it so much easier to grow your business, to scale your business with much less cost.”

Bruncko also believes that early-stage crypto companies will also benefit from the legislation by being able to focus on growth rather than legal and compliance considerations.

Europe remains a focal point for Binance, which views the continent as one of the largest and most advanced crypto economies in the world. Given that financial innovation and leading fintechs are centered in Europe, Bruncko stressed that the wider region will continue to be an important operational space for the exchange:

“A lot of major crypto projects were started out of Europe. If you take Ethereum, it effectively started in London, Switzerland and a bunch of other places. Ever since then, we’ve had a huge amount of various successful, influential projects coming out of Europe.”

Bruncko said that Binance has been pushing to ensure regulatory compliance across Europe over the past year. The exchange is regulated in five European countries, including two G7 members.

Markets in crypto-assets