Binance to shut down crypto derivatives trading in Europe

Binance moves to suspend derivatives trading in Europe, starting with Germany, Italy and Netherlands.

Troubled global cryptocurrency exchange Binance continues moving fast in curbing services to respond to the ongoing regulatory scrutiny worldwide, partly shutting down derivatives trading.

Binance officially announced Friday that it would suspend its derivatives trading across the European region, starting with Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The company clarified that users in mentioned countries cannot open new futures accounts on Binance effective immediately.

We're continually evaluating our products and working with our partners to meet our users’ needs.

Today we’re announcing that we plan to wind down our derivatives products offerings across the European region, commencing with the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy.

— Binance (@binance) July 30, 2021

Binance added that the exchange doesn’t actively market futures and derivatives products locally, and it plans further to scale down access to these products in the region. “The European region is a very important market for Binance, and it is taking proactive steps towards harmonizing crypto regulations, which is a positive sign for the industry,” Binance wrote.

The exchange noted that the latest move aligns with Binance’s commitment to engage in a constructive dialogue with global regulators regarding local requirements. Cointelegraph reached out to Binance and will update the story.

Binance’s latest suspensions follow a series of new trading restrictions amid the company facing massive pressure from global regulators, including those in Germany and Italy. In mid-July, the Italian Companies and Exchange Commission said that Binance Group and affiliated companies were unauthorized to provide investment services and operate in the country. About a dozen other global financial authorities in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have posted related warnings in recent months.

Related: Binance cuts withdrawal limits, rolls out tax reporting tool

In line with the company’s commitment to collaborate with regulators to offer its services legally, Binance has been actively limiting its services, delisting margin trading pairs for three fiat currencies and curbing maximum leverage positions from 125x to 20x earlier this week. Binance is also preparing to cut daily withdrawal limits from 2 Bitcoin (BTC) to 0.06 BTC in August.

Despite Binance’s mounting regulatory challenges worldwide, the company’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, apparently remains optimistic about the future of the cryptocurrency exchange. Last week, Zhao disclosed Binance US, a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange operating separately from Binance, is looking to go public.

“Binance US is looking at the IPO route. Most regulators are familiar with a certain pattern or having headquarters, having corporate structure. But we are setting up those structures to make it easier for an IPO to happen,” Zhao said.