Binance has been badly hit with regulatory issues for a while now and this new one is just another bad day for the company. The regulatory body overseeing financial markets in Australia broke into Binance offices in the country while searching for evidence that could implicate the crypto exchange. Binance regulatory issues are something that has been making the news more frequent.
Recently, Binance crackdown by the US SEC landed the crypto exchange in court while facing up to 13 charges. Then now, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) reportedly broke into Binance offices while trying to find evidence against Binance's now-defunct local derivatives business in the country. It is alleged that the invasion of offices as part of their investigations for an issue in April this year.
Binance Derivatives License Canceled in Australia
On April 6th, ASIC announced that the commission had canceled Binance's Australian financial services license. The registered company in the country representing Binance in the case was Oztures Trading Pty Ltd. Their subsidiary Binance Australia Derivatives (Binance), had initiated the process for the cancellation.
ASIC clarified that Binance had written the application to halt their derivatives license. However, their spot trading platform was still in operation. Before canceling Binance's license, ASIC had issued a notice of hearing to know if they should go ahead and cancel the license.
"ASIC has today canceled the Australian financial services license held by Oztures Trading Pty Ltd trading as Binance Australia Derivatives (Binance). The license cancellation was affected today in response to a request to cancel received from Binance yesterday," ASIC said in the announcement.
In the announcement, ASIC noted they will still conduct some investigations on Binance. ASIC Chair Joe Longo said that to protect consumer and retailers' rights, they will conduct a review to check for consumer harm.
"It is critically important that AFS licensees classify retail and wholesale clients in accordance with the law. Retail clients trading in crypto derivatives are afforded important rights and consumer protections under financial services laws in Australia, including access to external dispute resolution through the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. Our targeted review of these matters is ongoing, including focus on the extent of consumer harms," ASIC Chair Joe Longo said. Maybe the Binance offices searched recently are part of the ASIC investigation process.
Binance Willing to Cooperate With Regulatory Authorities
Sources with good knowledge of the matter stated that the search from ASIC did happen at Binance offices in Australia. However, when ASIC was reached out for comment, they declined. They have also refused to reveal the details of their search. They only said that the search on Binance's offices was part of their investigations.
Binance, while responding to the new development, said they are still firm on their decision to comply with regulatory authorities. According to the crypto exchange, they will cooperate with The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and ensure they meet their demands.
Binance has been facing so many regulatory problems recently. The Binance crackdown in Australia happened barely a month ago when the US SEC sued them for breaking regulatory laws. Some issues they have had with regulatory authorities have caused the crypto exchange to terminate some of their partnerships.