Leading crypto exchange Binance today announced that its Spanish subsidiary, Moon Tech Spain, was registered with the Bank of Spain as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) on July 7.
Binance doubled down on its European expansion plans as it received a regulatory nod to register as a Virtual Asset Services Provider (VASP) in the Iberian country.
“Moon Tech’s registration in Spain is an acknowledgment of our teams’ hard work and commitment to providing a platform that places user protection above all else,” said Binance chief Changpeng Zhao.
Binance began its VASP registration on January 28. Following yesterday’s approval, the crypto exchange can now offer its services across Spain in full compliance with the central bank’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist funding (CTF) rules.
The Bank of Spain will also monitor the compliance of the local entity and its directors with the country’s commercial and professional honorability standards.
“We have invested significantly in compliance and introduced AMLD 5 and 6 compliant tools and policies to ensure that our platform remains the safest and most trustworthy in the industry,” added Zhao.
For his part, Quim Giralt – Director of Binance Spain – assumed that the license would allow the exchange to expand its team and operations in that region:
“Over the coming years, we will hire local talent to serve the Spanish-speaking market and help to grow the local crypto ecosystem.”
Binance’s Expansion in Europe
Today’s news makes Spain the third country in the European Union to have green-lit Binance.
May this year, the organization received a green light from France’s regulators to register as a nationwide trading platform. As a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP), Binance said it would provide domestic users crypto trading and custody services. The initiative aims to develop a Binance Research and Development hub in France to recruit talent across the country and continent.
Shortly after, the company tapped a second regulatory approval on the Old Continent. Its Italian subsidiary – Binance Italy – was allowed to serve as a cryptocurrency service provider. However, according to local law, it had to register with the “Organismo Agenti e Mediatori” (OAM).
Back in April, Binance secured floorspace in Paris’s famous start-up incubator, Station F. Binance’s opening in Station F is part of “Objective Moon,” a €100 million ($101 million) Web3 and crypto investment initiative in France, which the exchange announced last November.
Meanwhile, rival crypto exchanges FTX and Coinbase are expanding their frontiers into Europe. In March, the Crypto Securities and Exchange Commission approved the launch of FTX Europe, now the second affiliate of the popular FTX exchange after FTX US launched in May 2019.
Coinbase reported that it also plans to hire a regional manager to oversee the exchange’s European expansion.
