Cryptocurrency exchanges have to cope with numerous challenges on a regular basis. For example, the central bank of the Netherlands (DNB) has fined Binance Holdings 3.3 million euros for offering local crypto services while not being registered with the DNB.

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The country’s central bank officially announced on July 18 that the regulator imposed the administrative fine in April 2022. According to the announcement, the cryptocurrency exchange objected to the fine on June 2, 2022.

The central bank pointed out that any company offering crypto services in the Netherlands must register with the country’s central bank in accordance with the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act. The DNB also mentioned that the central bank had previously issued a public warning to Binance on Aug. 18, 2021.

Regulations in the Netherlands

According to the announcement, the central bank applied a bigger penalty to Binance due to its large trading volumes. The cryptocurrency exchange had a “very large number of customers in the Netherlands,” while its daily trading volumes amounted to “$13.7 billion,” according to the central bank.

The increased penalty was also due to prolonged violations by Binance, the central bank of the Netherlands stated. According to the central bank, the violations occurred from May 2020 — when the DNB introduced the registration obligation — until the bank closed the investigation in December 2021. “DNB, therefore, considers these violations to be very serious,” the DNB noted.

The country’s central bank also mentioned that Binance had submitted an application to register, and the registration process is now being addressed. As Binance has moved to comply with the law and has been transparent about its business operations, the central bank reduced the total amount of the fine by 5%, the announcement notes.

A spokesperson for Binance stated that Binance reached a critical milestone in meeting Dutch regulatory requirements through a locally established entity, Binance Nederland BV.

Binance and Spain

Binance knows how to cope with challenges. The cryptocurrency exchange is now registered as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) by the Bank of Spain, allowing Binance to offer custody and crypto exchange services in the country.

In an announcement on July 8, Binance said that its Spanish subsidiary, Moon Tech Spain, was registered as a VASP by the country’s central bank on July 7. The cryptocurrency exchange applied for registration in January.

It can now provide fiat currency exchange to digital assets as well as wallet custody services while complying with Spain’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing rules.

|The company’s CEO Changpeng Zhao said the development in Spain resulted from the company’s hard work to make its platform centered on protecting users.

Quim Giralt, director of Binance Spain, also made a comment. He stated that Binance’s next move would be to expand the team in Spain and make its services more accessible. Giralt noted that it would be onboarding more local talent to cater to the local market and contribute to growing the ecosystem within Spain.

In May,  Binance secured VASP approval from France’s financial market regulator, Autorité Des Marchés Financiers, giving the exchange the necessary registration to offer its services in the country.