Binance Australia gets OK for cancellation of its derivatives license

Binance Australia, a unit of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, got the green light from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for the cancellation of its derivatives license, according to a Thursday release. In turn, the Binance's Australian arm will close all of its customers' open derivatives positions by April 21. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao took to Twitter saying the platform had just 104 users as of April 5, when Binance Australia requested to cancel its derivatives license, adding that the spot exchange in Australia will continue to operate. The move comes a week after the Commodity and Futures Trade Commission sued Binance and CZ, as he is known, for allegedly violating trading and derivatives rules as well as helping U.S. customers circumvent compliance rules. On Monday, Mike Fay, investing group leader of 'BlockChain Reaction,' took a deep dive into Binance's legal headwinds that resulted in notable outflows . “It is critically important that AFS licensees classify retail and wholesale clients in accordance with the law," said ASIC Chair Joe Longo. "Retail clients trading in crypto derivatives are afforded important rights and consumer protections under financial services laws in Australia, including access to external dispute resolution through the Australian Financial Complaints Authority." More on the Crypto Clampdown Crypto exchange Binance suffers $2B in outflows as woes pile up Binance USD stablecoin hit with $500M in outflows after CFTC complaint The Bitcoin Thesis That No One Is Talking About Bitcoin Is Benefitting From Banking Sector Fallout