Crypto exchange Binance was left without 100,000 customers in the Netherlands

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance urged its customers in the region to hurry up with the withdrawal of cryptocurrency assets by August 17

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has lost more than 100,000 customers in the Netherlands after announcing its withdrawal from the country. This is reported by NL Times with reference to the head of the Dutch crypto exchange Coinmerce Jaap de Bruin.

According to Bruin, in the near future, the number of users who switched from Binance to Coinmerce will only grow. As part of the agreement, Binance customers in the Netherlands can withdraw their assets to Coinmerce through the "asset relocation" service. This means that it is not the users themselves who are responsible for transferring assets, but Binance. The "controlled" transfer of cryptocurrency from Binance to Coinmerce was previously announced by Bruin himself. Under what terms Binance entered into cooperation with Coinmerce is unclear.

Binance was unable to obtain a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license from the Dutch regulator, which forced the trading platform to curtail its activities in the country. What exactly prevented the exchange from registering in the country is unclear. However, this is far from the first country where Binance has failed to gain a foothold. The exchange urged customers in the Netherlands to urgently withdraw cryptocurrency from wallets under its control by August 17.

In the summer of 2022, the Central Bank of the Netherlands fined Binance $3 million for providing cryptocurrency trading services without registering in the country. According to Dutch law, any business aimed at providing cryptocurrency services in the country must register with the local regulator in accordance with the law on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.  According to the Central Bank, Binance violated local legislation for a long period of time: from May 21, 2020 to December 1, 2021.