Binance gets thumbs up to trade crypto in Sweden as part of European Push
Binance is making a foray into Sweden after the country’s financial inspectorate granted the crypto exchange’s Swedish subsidiary permission to administer and trade cryptocurrencies, the company announced on January 11.
The FSA has recognized Binance Nordics AB’s registration as a financial institution, making it the seventh European nation to license the cryptocurrency exchange.
This latest approval for The crypto exchange allows the Swedish people to use all its functions, including trading in cryptocurrencies and making deposits and withdrawals in euros.
In addition to a variety of other services, Swedish customers will now have access to Binance’s staking service and Visa card.
Binance expands in Europe
According to a press release, six more European Union member countries – Cyprus, Italy, France, Lithuania, Spain and Poland – have previously granted Binance approval.
The latest registration, according to Richard Teng, head of Europe and MENA at Binance, illustrates the company’s commitment to working with regulators to “uphold global standards.”
He said:
“We are extremely grateful to the Financial Supervisory Authority for their help throughout the application process and for their approval. Sweden has joined the growing list of foreign jurisdictions that have granted Binance regulatory approval.”
The cryptocurrency exchange is currently licensed in 15 jurisdictions and service users from over 140 countries.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stated at the Crypto Finance Conference in St. Moritz on Wednesday that the cryptocurrency exchange aims to maintain its scaling plans, with the goal of increasing its staff by 15% to 30%.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Image: Getty Images
Last year, the crypto exchange grew from 3,000 to 8,000 employees, according to Zhao. This would be in stark contrast to many of the exchange’s peers, which have cut staff in recent months, a pattern likely to continue this year.
Authorities in various nations, such as the US, UK, Canada and Japan, have previously clamped down on the exchange’s operations and warned potential investors of the dangers associated with digital assets.
Acquisition and growth
On Tuesday, a US judge approved Binance.US to acquire over $1 billion in assets from Voyager Digital, which filed for bankruptcy in July. Before Voyager’s insolvency in November, FTX had intended to absorb its assets, but now they are once again available.
Crypto total market cap at $842 billion on the daily chart | Chart: TradingView.com
In December, the company bought the Indonesian cryptocurrency exchange Tokocrypto, and in November it re-entered the Japanese market by acquiring the regulated cryptocurrency exchange Sakura Exchange BitCoin.
Binance is currently largest stock exchange in terms of trading volume, as it has processed $7 billion in crypto exchanges in the last 24 hours. It will likely be able to hire aggressively even as its competitors are cautious.
Earlier this year, CZ stated that the company is “establishing a compliance team,” which could help the company secure a license in Germany, Europe’s largest economy.
– Featured Image by National Geographic Kids