Binance Australia Offices Searched Amid Ongoing Probe

In Brief

• Australian regulators have conducted searches at Binance offices as part of a derivatives probe, focusing on classification of clients.
• Binance Australia has halted AUD transfers following the search and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's decision to cancel its derivatives license.
• Binance is facing increasing challenges globally, with its European banking partner withdrawing support and a failed attempt to obtain a VASP in Austria.
  
  

Binance offices in Australia have been searched by local authorities. The exchange had previously shut down the derivatives platform in the country.

Binance is facing more trouble in Australia, as regulators in the country have conducted searches at its offices. According to the report, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission executed the searches on June 4.

Authorities in Australia Search Binance Offices
The ongoing probe of Binance Australia’s derivatives platform was the reason behind the search. The Bloomberg report states that one of the points under review is the classification of retail and wholesale clients.

On its part, Binance is willing to cooperate with local authorities. The exchange has explained that it “is focused on meeting local regulatory standards in order to serve our users in Australia in a fully compliant manner.”

Binance Australia has announced its decision to shut down the local derivatives exchanges. It is uncertain whether this action will effectively address the concerns raised by the authorities.

Binance Halted AUD Transfers
The search by the Australian regulator follows the exchange’s decision to stop AUD bank transfers. The Australian arm of the exchange has been searching for a banking partner in the region.

This itself was followed by a decision by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to cancel Binance Australia’s derivatives license.

Ben Rose, head of Binance Australia, offered some more information on the incident. He claimed that the exchange received less than a day’s warning from the now-former payments provider Zepto before the Australian banking system cut it off.

Binance has extremely a fair bit of trouble in the past few months and has gone through increasingly difficult challenges in the past few weeks. Furthermore, there are signs that it may face even more trouble going forward, particularly in Europe.

For starters, Binance’s European banking partner has withdrawn its support for the exchange. Additionally, it failed to obtain a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in Austria. French prosecutors are also investigating Binance, so Australia’s authorities aren’t the only ones taking more serious action.

A German regulator has also denied Binance a license.

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