Malta Regulator Clarifies Legal Status of Binance

In a recent interview, a Malta parliamentarian has sought to clarify the legal status of top cryptocurrency exchange Binance within the island country.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Malta’s Junior Minister for Financial Services and Digital Economy, Bartolo Clayton, reaffirmed that Binance has never been licensed in the jurisdiction:

“As informed by the Malta Financial Services Authority, which is an autonomous body not a state entity, until the time of writing, Binance has never been in possession of an official license by MFSA. Such statement has been further corroborated by Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, on his personal Twitter account where he also stated that Malta has not changed its position.”

The minister also sought to dispel notions that Malta has retreated from its permissive stance toward business operating with cryptocurrencies:

“This therefore DOES NOT mean that the Government has in some way or another introduced a harsher or more stringent stance towards cryptos,…