License Denial
It was announced this summer that one of the largest taxpayers in Lithuania since 2020 – a major player in the cryptocurrency market, the global cryptocurrency exchange “Binance” subsidiary “Bifinity” – is withdrawing from Lithuania. According to Rekvizitai.lt data, only one employee remained in the company in June – the board member Elchin Mamedov, appointed to oversee the company’s closure.
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When asked by 15min about the reasons for this withdrawal and when it will finally leave Lithuania, Binance representatives explained in a comment that “Binance complies with the regulatory requirements applicable in the jurisdictions where it operates.
“With the entry into force of the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) regulation, we have taken the necessary steps to ensure that our products and services in Europe are provided in compliance with the relevant legal and regulatory frameworks,” the comment states.
As announced by the Bank of Lithuania, this regulation establishes a comprehensive European crypto-asset and related services framework, as well as requirements for issuers of crypto-asset tokens (asset-referenced tokens (ART), electronic money tokens (EMT), and other crypto-assets) and crypto-asset service providers.
This system helps manage the main risks associated with crypto-asset markets that are not addressed by the currently applicable financial services regulations.
Requirements for issuers of electronic money tokens and asset-referenced tokens apply from June 30, 2024. The entire MiCA regulation applies from December 30, 2024. The MiCA regulation is complemented by the Republic of Lithuania’s Crypto-Asset Market Act.
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Binance representatives stated that they remain committed to obtaining the MiCA license and operating in Europe in the long term in compliance with all applicable requirements. “We are actively continuing the licensing process and will provide more information when the time is right,” the comment assures.
The MiCA crypto-asset service provider (CASP) license in Lithuania is issued by the Bank of Lithuania, but its representatives explained to 15min that Binance was not licensed in Lithuania.
As Reuters writes, the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, which has been at the center of scandals multiple times, recently faced new accusations – this time for disclosing sensitive data to Russia.
According to Reuters, although it is common for companies like Binance to comply with legitimate law enforcement requests in the countries where they operate to provide customer information, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange stated in 2023 that it had completely withdrawn from Russia.
In recent years, many Russian citizens, including the aforementioned J. Belenkis, have used such exchanges to support initiatives that Moscow later declared extremist or terrorist.
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