“People in the capital market told Binance to stop marketing and doing business in Israel until they looked into getting a licence, the Capital Markets Authority said.
Binance, a major crypto exchange, is said to have stopped working and marketing to Israelis after one of the country’s financial regulators asked about licencing.
People in Israel have asked Binance for information about the services it provides to them and about any licences it has. Globes, an Israeli-based news outlet, reported on this Thursday. The regulator, who is in charge of getting crypto businesses licences, is said to have never received an application from Binance to do business in Israel.
“People in the capital market told Binance to stop marketing and doing business in Israel until they looked into getting a licence, the Capital Markets Authority said.
People who want to buy crypto from Binance can no longer use Israel’s shekel as a payment option on the site. This was a feature that was added in February 2020. However, at the time of this writing, the job listings on the platform still show seven opportunities to work with the exchange in Israel.
It was in July 2021 that Changpeng Zhao, the CEO and founder of Binance, said that he wanted the exchange to work with local regulators as it opened offices in other countries. However, Binance is still under investigation by regulators from countries like Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Cayman Islands, Thailand, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and other places. They have either said the exchange is illegal or warned investors to be careful.
Israel, which has a population of about 9 million people, has seemed to welcome the introduction of digital assets as long as they are properly regulated. This is how it works: President Isaac Herzog got something that isn’t going to be sold or exchanged when he took the oath of office in July. The country’s central bank has been looking into making the shekel digital for almost five years.
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
