Binance Secures Complete License in El Salvador

Binance announced on Tuesday that it is the first cryptocurrency exchange to obtain a complete license in El Salvador, a milestone the company hopes will assist in overcoming international regulatory challenges and gaining approvals in foreign markets.

According to a statement, the Central Reserve Bank and the National Commission of Digital Assets granted Binance the Bitcoin Services Provider (BSP) license and the first non-provisional Digital Assets Services Provider (DASP) license, respectively.

It follows months of communication with authorities throughout El Salvador. The statement was made by Binance’s director of Latin America, Min Lin.

The expectation is that El Salvador’s market will assist foreign markets in recovering from losses.

The country was the first to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021 after passing the Bitcoin Law.

Entities or individuals providing crypto services are required by law to register with the central bank.

Currently, there are over 90 registered entities, but Binance claims to be the first to hold both BSP and DASP licenses.

Binance stated that the company’s licensing is part of its ongoing efforts to obtain municipal permissions in key international markets.

Currently, the exchange has approvals in 18 jurisdictions, including France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Dubai.

However, the expansion efforts of the exchange have not been without obstacles.

The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission warned against a Binance impostor on August 1, even though Binance.com, the URL of the global exchange, was “neither registered nor regulated” in Nigeria.

This year, Binance was also forced to withdraw from several European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, citing difficulties with registration and regulatory compliance.

The withdrawal followed BaFin’s refusal to grant Binance a license in Germany and the company’s failure to register in the Netherlands as a virtual asset service provider.

In July, Binance scaled back its operations in Cyprus to comply with new EU regulations.

Binance lost three critical executives on July 9 as it fended off regulatory investigations worldwide.

General Counsel Hon Ng, Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillmann, and Senior Vice President for Compliance Steven Christie are among the departing executives.

Former Asia-Pacific-based legal executive Eleanor Hughes has since filled Binance’s vacant general counsel position. At the time of their departure, Hillmann and Christie both expressed positivity