Binance In Talks With Malaysian Regulators To Obtain Local Licence

Binance is engaged in ongoing discussions with Malaysian authorities to secure a licence for its operations, nearly six years after being barred from the country. The exchange has been meeting with both the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) over the past ten months to explore a legally approved pathway for providing its services to Malaysian citizens.

However, Binance has not disclosed the exact type of licence it is pursuing, emphasizing that the talks are still focused on the feasibility and structure of a licensed business model. In July 2021, the SC ordered Binance to cease operations following an investigation that found the exchange illegally running a digital asset exchange in Malaysia.

Despite being removed from the SC's Investor Alert List in 2024, Binance was added back to the list earlier this month, though no reasons were provided. The renewed talks coincide with increased scrutiny over Binance's peer-to-peer (P2P) trading platform. Former Malaysian finance minister and DAP leader Lim Guan Eng recently wrote to the SC, requesting an investigation into whether the platform facilitated transactions in ringgit through advertisements listed in other currencies.

Binance responded by voluntarily disabling a specific Papua New Guinea kina marketplace on its P2P platform, which was unofficially tied to the ringgit, as part of its cooperation with the SC.