Binance keeps working in the EU inspite supposed blockade

[zasad@]

Well binance was violating US laws until CZ got the book thrown at him so hard he had to pay a billion to bail himself out with a presidential person. The law is a bit subjective when things get to such a high profile.

Binance isn't going by the letter of the law and playing it safe here for sure. They want business to continue at any cost.
What is the EU going to do? Sit and watch? Pursue a judgment through courts trying to play it fair and maybe fine binance?
They can exert a lot of influence outside of th courts too, or even pursue a case against binance through the court they have the most influence to so they can establish some strict precedent.

During the Wild West era of cryptocurrency, every crypto exchange violated US laws. Binance was the largest crypto exchange to pay a hefty fine, but I've seen calculations showing that their operations earned them twice as much as they paid in fines. CZ handed over half his profits, spent four months in a comfortable American prison, and is now a billionaire.

I think you understand perfectly well that the size of the fine is irrelevant if the company's profits ultimately turn out to be greater.
The EU could designate Binance as a terrorist organization and imprison all traders for treason (this is the harshest option, but very effective).

[yhiaali3]

As a lawyer, I can tell you that only a court can establish a violation of the law. And until a court decision is reached, Binance hasn't violated anything de jure.

I agree that Binance has not broken any European law so far, but it intends to.
Of course, the law does not punish intentions but punishes actions after they have been committed, so until that time no one has the right to hold Binance accountable.

Binance isn't going by the letter of the law and playing it safe here for sure. They want business to continue at any cost.

It is clear that Binance intends not to comply but as I pointed out in my previous post the law punishes actions, not intentions, so we must wait for the violation to occur and then see the European Union’s decision against Binance.

[zasad@]

As a lawyer, I can tell you that only a court can establish a violation of the law. And until a court decision is reached, Binance hasn't violated anything de jure.

I agree that Binance has not broken any European law so far, but it intends to.
Of course, the law does not punish intentions but punishes actions after they have been committed, so until that time no one has the right to hold Binance accountable.

Binance isn't going by the letter of the law and playing it safe here for sure. They want business to continue at any cost.

It is clear that Binance intends not to comply but as I pointed out in my previous post the law punishes actions, not intentions, so we must wait for the violation to occur and then see the European Union’s decision against Binance.

Europe can impose strict restrictions and sanctions, but they try to be flexible.
And since the law is so flexible, they can punish one company and not punish another for the same thing. This is EU policy, and Binance plays by their rules.
Try doing the same in the US, and the company will face different consequences.

[yhiaali3]

And since the law is so flexible, they can punish one company and not punish another for the same thing. This is EU policy, and Binance plays by their rules.
Try doing the same in the US, and the company will face different consequences.

How so? I mean, is the application of the law selective and does it differ from person to person or from company to company? And on what basis is the selection made? Is it based on interests or on personal relationships and influence?

I understand such things here in my country and in developing countries in general, where the law is not applied to everyone, but rather is selected according to interests and influence, but is this the same thing for Europe and the United States?

[zasad@]

And since the law is so flexible, they can punish one company and not punish another for the same thing. This is EU policy, and Binance plays by their rules.
Try doing the same in the US, and the company will face different consequences.

How so? I mean, is the application of the law selective and does it differ from person to person or from company to company? And on what basis is the selection made? Is it based on interests or on personal relationships and influence?

I understand such things here in my country and in developing countries in general, where the law is not applied to everyone, but rather is selected according to interests and influence, but is this the same thing for Europe and the United States?

I cannot say with 100% certainty whether this is the case, but I base my conclusions on the fact that Binance sought to operate legally and submitted an official application in Greece. After a bureaucratic process lasting over six months, the exchange was denied a license. According to some reports, the refusal came under pressure from other European countries. So much for flexible legislation.

[alani123]

So we can only wait and see if the EU will take any action. Maybe things are already happening under the hood
 

For binance to not have access to SEPA instant transactions it's a big setback because because comparatively to other exchanges like kraken and coinbase now it's going to take at least 1 working day for the on/off ramp of EUR to come or go from the exchange with an international wire, which is even expensive to send and some banks even still charge to receive.

But somehow binance still retains a big part of the EUR market even being above many of MiCA licensed exchanges like crypto.com and bybit.

It makes sense though. For crypto/EUR pairs binance still has the most competitive fees. For stablecoin to fiat pairs coinbase charges a very miniscule fee at 0.001%, that's literally 1€ per 100k traded! I'm not sure if it's even worth it for them to fill my trades of 10€ at this rate but I guess they do it to support their partner's stablecoins, usdc and eurc.

I'm pretty sure because of how competitive binance is they will retain some smart consumers for BTC/EUR snd other big pairs because even with a wire for EUR it's still worth it for the low fees at big trades. It'd actually be a shame if EU went after them.

[zasad@]

In my opinion, EU sanctions against Binance are pointless because Binance does not fall under EU jurisdiction.
The only thing the EU can do is make things difficult for EU citizens who use Binance's services. They could make an example of certain traders, causing others to fear using unlicensed exchanges. However, I’d be interested to hear the views of Europeans who are part of this ecosystem.

[alani123]

However, I’d be interested to hear the views of Europeans who are part of this ecosystem.

Every other exchanges I can trade crypto in has higher fees.
Binance has the best liquidity for almost all crypto pairs and the most honest fee structure for retail.
Other platforms try to skim as much as possible out of users through predatory practices like increasing the fees 10x on small swaps that retail users tend to do every day etc. So I really don't like how the EU tried to apply "customer protection" measures while in fact killing competition from one of the most honest players in the market.

Binance was all about getting a license and applying AML measures, but in the end the EU blocked the road for them. This affects average retail crypto users very adversely as the fees on other platforms are daylight robbery. Coinbase charges over 1% on crypto pairs... The EU just kickstared a bad trend for their citizens imo. Money laundering is going to continue happening anyway.

[zasad@]

Well binance was violating US laws until CZ got the book thrown at him so hard he had to pay a billion to bail himself out with a presidential person. The law is a bit subjective when things get to such a high profile.

Binance isn't going by the letter of the law and playing it safe here for sure. They want business to continue at any cost.
What is the EU going to do? Sit and watch? Pursue a judgment through courts trying to play it fair and maybe fine binance?
They can exert a lot of influence outside of th courts too, or even pursue a case against binance through the court they have the most influence to so they can establish some strict precedent.

It’s pretty funny. CZ spent four months relaxing in a luxury prison suite and handed over about 40% of the profits he made in the US market back during the "Wild West" days of crypto. To me, that looks like CZ's best deal ever.
The EU consists of 27 countries, what benefits one country is often completely disadvantageous to others. I’ll be watching the Binance lawsuit with a bucket of popcorn.

[YOSHIE]

But it's also always interesting to see what binance have up their sleeve to avoid regulation.

Yes, we know that Binance is currently not completely lost on the European Union continent, although legally the space for Binance exchange operations is narrowed, this is not an obstacle for Binance to operate on the continent.

As I saw in one source, which states.

Binance stated that this full service closure is only temporary. They are currently approaching other EU countries (such as France or Ireland) to try to apply for a new official license so they can return to 100% legal operations in the future.

If the path taken by Binance is fulfilled and obtains an official regulatory license, I am sure that Binance will run more optimally in the European Union, it just needs time to normalize all applicable rules and laws.

[zasad@]

Time is working against Binance. They made a lot of money in the US because there was no regulation allowing them to easily bypass rules and they faced no strong competition.
Domestic companies are currently capturing the US market, and if Binance fails to secure a license in Europe within the next couple of years, it will be difficult for them to compete in a market that is already dominated by others.

[BlackHatCoiner]

EU regulators: "We have finally blocked Binance!"
Binance: laughs in Georgian

I'm pretty sure their compliance strategy is just two guys throwing darts at a map of non-EU countries. By the time Brussels drafts an angry letter to Tbilisi to complain about the SEPA backdoor, Binance will already be routing their EUR deposits through a bakery in Kazakhstan.

[alani123]

EU regulators: "We have finally blocked Binance!"
Binance: laughs in Georgian

I'm pretty sure their compliance strategy is just two guys throwing darts at a map of non-EU countries. By the time Brussels drafts an angry letter to Tbilisi to complain about the SEPA backdoor, Binance will already be routing their EUR deposits through a bakery in Kazakhstan.

Binance always was one step ahead of authorities.

When their EU payment processing vehicle got BTFO'd by local authorities after heavy nudges by the EU, they ALREADY had a shell company in France called HARMONIIE SAS ready to go and they started issuing their own IBANs to their users on the same day the payment processor was gone. It was a very in your face attitude from the beginning with EU authorities but in the later years they've kind of been overdoing it. They kind of had it coming for them with the MiCA regulation after laughing at the face of EU authorities and making a mockery of the application of law for so long.

[zasad@]

EU regulators: "We have finally blocked Binance!"
Binance: laughs in Georgian

I'm pretty sure their compliance strategy is just two guys throwing darts at a map of non-EU countries. By the time Brussels drafts an angry letter to Tbilisi to complain about the SEPA backdoor, Binance will already be routing their EUR deposits through a bakery in Kazakhstan.

Binance always was one step ahead of authorities.

When their EU payment processing vehicle got BTFO'd by local authorities after heavy nudges by the EU, they ALREADY had a shell company in France called HARMONIIE SAS ready to go and they started issuing their own IBANs to their users on the same day the payment processor was gone. It was a very in your face attitude from the beginning with EU authorities but in the later years they've kind of been overdoing it. They kind of had it coming for them with the MiCA regulation after laughing at the face of EU authorities and making a mockery of the application of law for so long.

I’ll add my two cents: all crypto exchanges were doing pretty much the same thing. Binance is the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, which is why it frequently makes the news.

How Christine Lagarde Blocked Binance From Getting an EU Crypto License
"ECB President Lagarde personally urged Greece to block Binance's EU crypto license bid over its US criminal record and stablecoin concerns, the WSJ reports."
https://coincentral.com/how-christine-lagarde-blocked-binance-from-getting-an-eu-crypto-license

It is difficult to combat this using legal means.

[safar1980]

Binance Invests $100 Million in Circle, Expands Strategic Partnership and Renews Commercial Agreement for Five Years
Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE: CRCL), a global internet financial platform, and Binance, operator of one of the world’s most widely used financial super apps, today announced an expansion of their strategic partnership. The companies have entered into a new, five-year commercial agreement focused on expanding USDC access across emerging markets. Further, Binance has made a $100 million strategic equity investment in Circle.

Under the new agreement, Binance will accelerate the promotion, awareness, and integration of USDC on its platform, especially across emerging markets, and Circle will provide the infrastructure services that support holding and using USDC.

“Binance has built one of the largest and most dynamic platforms in the world for using digital currency, creating the internet’s largest financial super app, and becoming the most widely used wallet in the world for dollar stablecoins,” said Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Circle. “Together, we see incredible opportunities to leverage USDC to expand dollar access, support savings and investment with innovative digital asset products, and reach people and businesses throughout global emerging markets.”

Binance aims to remain in the markets through investments and partnerships