Binance Isn't Permitted to Operate in Malaysia, Local Regulator Says

Top cryptocurrency exchange Binance was added to the Securities Commission Malaysia’s list of unauthorized entities earlier today. 

According to the regulator, the digital asset trading platform is “operating a recognized market without authorization from the SC”. 

Malayisan law requires cryptocurrency exchanges to register as Digital Assets Exchanges with the SC. After the initial filing, they get up to nine months to meet the SC’s regulation standards.

So far, only three cryptocurrency platforms — Luno, Sinegy and Tokenize — have received full approval from the local watchdog. 

Notedly, in March Binance announced that it was going to test the South East Asia rollout of its crypto debit card in Malaysia ahead of other countries. 

As of press time, Binance still seems to have the support for the Malaysian Ringgit, which it introduced for its P2P platform and mobile app back in March this year. The platform declined to comment on this story. 

Cointelegraph reached out to the SC for additional details, and will update this story accordingly.

Previous run-ins with regulators

Binance has been flagged by regulators in other jurisdictions before. 

Last month, the securities watchdog in Brazil barred the cryptocurrency exchange from offering Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts in the country. 

In February, the Malta Financial Services Authority stated that “Binance is not authorised by the MFSA to operate in the crypto currency sphere and is therefore not subject to regulatory oversight by the MFSA.”

It is not entirely clear where Binance is headquartered and regulated. According to the crypto exchange CEO Changpeng Zhao aka CZ, it "has a number of regulated entities around the world, either operated by our partners or by Binance.com directly.” Binance’s main office is reportedly registered in the Cayman Islands and Seychelles.