Binance has received a crypto asset license from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), according to the crypto exchange.
This is Binance’s first digital asset-specific license. The company said approval by the CBB demonstrated its commitment to being in regulatory compliance as the first of its group of companies in the region.
HE Rasheed Al Maraj, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, said that developing regulations that are aligned with global trends is a key objective for them.
“We continue to work with partners and industry leaders such as Binance to develop regulations that enable innovation and best practices.”
Khalid Humaidan, CEO of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) added that Team Bahrain has built a world-class infrastructure to support the fast-growing blockchain and crypto industry:
“Collaboration with industry leaders such as Binance will further enhance our mission to establish the Kingdom of Bahrain as a leading business hub.”
Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), issued the following comment:
“The license from Bahrain is a milestone in our journey to being fully licensed and regulated around the world. I would like to thank Team Bahrain, guided by the visionary leadership of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for the great work in facilitating this achievement. Team Bahrain has shown considerable foresight in its development of crypto regulations and provides the regulatory protections that consumers should come to expect from regulators around the world. I’m proud of the hard work of the Binance team to meet the stringent criteria of the Central Bank of Bahrain, not just locally but globally by ensuring that we meet and exceed the requirements of regulators and protect users with strong anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing policies.”
Binance earned a good amount of first-mover advantage along with providing a robust trading platform that served global customers. But being first meant many regulations did not exist when the crypto marketplace launched. In recent months, Binance has worked towards becoming regulatory compliant around the world while ramping up AML/KYC protocols. Meanwhile, many regulators have struggled to create bespoke rules for crypto trading platforms deferring to existing rules that frequently are a poor fit for the unique qualities of crypto.
Under the crypto-asset license, Binance can provide crypto-asset trading, custodial services, and portfolio management to customers under the supervision of the Bahrain regulators.