North Dakota Joins States Revoking Binance US License

Key takeaways:

• The financial watchdog in North Dakota has withdrawn the money transmitter license for Binance US, the company’s US subsidiary, becoming the eighth state to do so.
• Within 30 days, Binance US may request to revoke the order. In the event that no request is made by then, the order will take effect.

The financial watchdog in North Dakota has withdrawn the money transmitter license for Binance US, the company’s US subsidiary, becoming the eighth state to do so.

Commissioner Lise Kruse of the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) stated on June 17 that BAM Trading Services, operating under the name Binance US, had broken the state’s money transmitter regulations.

The license has been revoked due to Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao’s (CZ) federal conviction in November for conspiring to operate an unauthorized money-transmitting firm and their failure to maintain an efficient anti-money laundering program.

According to Kruse and CZ, Binance’s “majority beneficial owner and control person” was found guilty on felony counts of breaking federal anti-money laundering statutes. The revocation order stated:

“The Commissioner finds the Respondent does not continue to meet the qualifications or satisfy requirements that may apply to an applicant for a new money transmitter license,”

Within 30 days, starting on July 17, 2024, Binance US may request to revoke the order. In the event that no request is made by then, the order will take effect.

The seventh state to cancel or refuse to renew a money transfer license that BAM Trading Services had requested is North Dakota.

In the past several months, Oregon, Florida, Maine, North Carolina, and Alaska have all taken such steps. Shortly after Zhao entered a guilty plea, Florida became the first state to terminate Binance US’ services in November.

The next two US states to do the same were North Carolina and Maine on January 23 and 29, respectively. Licenses for Binance US were never granted in Texas, New York, Vermont, or Hawaii.

According to the Binance US website, the onboarding process for new users has also been temporarily suspended in the states of Connecticut, Georgia, Ohio, Minnesota, and Washington.

Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has dismissed tax evasion accusations against Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, leaving Binance as the only defendant. This is a big move for the crypto industry. This action follows the filing of preliminary charges alleging tax evasion against the crypto exchange executives and themselves in mid-March.