Malta’s MFSA States That Binance Doesn’t Operate Under Its Jurisdiction

In a bit of a surprising twist, the Malta Financial Services Authority, or MFSA, was forced to issue out a statement on Friday. The contents of this statement were the specific denial that Binance was under their regulation. Furthermore, they denied the fact that the exchange itself even had left to operate within the island nation itself, well known for its massive crypto adoption.

MFSA Forced To Correct Media

For some time now, many news reports have come from across the world, stating that Binance is a crypto company based in Malta. It’s gotten to the point that the regulator itself had to intervene, explicitly stating that the MFSA has not authorized Binance in any way. The MFSA had to stress that no authorizations were given by the regulator for Binance to operate within the crypto sphere. As a result, the MFSA has no jurisdiction or regulatory oversight of the company.

Binance announced that it was opening Malta offices all the way back in March of 2018. This was shortly after a failed attempt at establishing a presence in Japan, as the exchange had clashed against the regulators there. At the time, Joseph Muscat, the Prime Minister of Malta, had welcomed Binance into Malta’s borders with open arms. He tweeted that the country would offer its support to Binance and its goals in becoming a global trailblazer when it comes to blockchain regulation.

CZ: This Is Old News

Back in September of 2018, Binance had started to collaborate with the Malta Stock Exchange (MSX), striving to provide security tokens to the trading platform. In late 2019, Binance was reportedly providing funding towards a Maltese bank that would have a friendly policy when it comes to Crypto as a whole.

As it stands now, however, whether or not Binance even has a presence within Malta is up for debate.

While initially denying to comment about the matter, Changpeng Zhao has recently come forward to discuss the issue. Binance’s own CEO explained, rather casually, that this was” old news,” and Binance’s lack of Maltese regulation has always been the case.

There is a mix of truth, FUD & misconception. https://t.co/9rMMAmc1G9 is not headquartered or operated in Malta. This is old news & has always been the case, hence there is quite a bit of FUD turning this into a breaking story. The community’s comments show that understanding. https://t.co/eXCq8rO1Ue

— CZ Binance ??? (@cz_binance) February 21, 2020

Strange Implications

While the media can quickly push out a narrative and run with it without ever realizing its falsehoods, it needs to be pointed out that CZ must’ve known about these articles. If anything, it’s probable that he simply didn’t correct the world, as it added credibility to his business. Regardless, this is important news, due to Malta’s close relationship with Binance before this. Binance’s Maltese exploits have now become uncertain.