New commodity options let traders gain exposure to gold and silver prices through Binance’s Abu Dhabi-regulated exchange. Binance will launch USDT-settled options on gold and silver through its Abu Dhabi-regulated exchange, expanding its lineup of traditional financial products alongside cryptocurrencies. The contracts will be listed through Nest Exchange Limited, Binance’s Abu Dhabi Global Market-regulated Recognized Investment Exchange (ADGM). The options allow traders to gain exposure to movements in gold and silver prices without taking delivery of the underlying metals. Retail users will only be able to buy options, while eligible institutional users and liquidity providers can also write contracts. According to Binance, restricting retail users to buying options limits downside risk…
Binance co-founder CZ backed crypto license passporting across ASEAN to simplify approvals, reduce compliance costs and encourage competition. Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao backed crypto license passporting across ASEAN, arguing that firms regulated in one market should be able to enter others through a simplified approval process rather than applying from scratch. Speaking Tuesday during the “One ASEAN, One Digital Economy” fireside chat at the ASEAN Tech Summit Manila 2026, Zhao backed an idea raised by FinTech Alliance PH founding chair Lito Villanueva for regulatory passporting or license portability. Zhao said regulators could still review applicants but should not require them to complete another full licensing application from scratch. A regional licensing framework could r…
Binance has been phishing its own staff to get ahead of potential attacks. South Korean crypto volumes tank 89% — plus all of the week’s other crypto news from Asia. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has been running simulated phishing attacks against its own employees for the past four years and can fire staff who repeatedly fail the tests, according to Binance chief security officer Jimmy Su. The fake attacks are conducted by Binance’s red team, an internal ethical hacking unit whose job is to break into systems to identify vulnerabilities. “We do phishing attacks on our own employees on a monthly basis just so we understand if our security hygiene is improving,” Su told Cointelegraph. “The ones that have failed it, we will do remediation training.”
Binance’s Android app is unavailable on Google Play in some EU markets amid scrutiny over MiCA compliance. The Binance app has become unavailable on the Google Play Store in certain European Union countries amid questions over the exchange’s compliance with the bloc’s crypto licensing framework. A user in Spain confirmed to Cointelegraph on Monday that the Binance app was no longer visible in Google Play searches, although it remained available through Oppo’s App Market, an Android app store used on Oppo devices. In contrast, checks in Poland showed the Binance app remained available on Google Play, indicating the issue does not affect all EU markets.
Binance regularly tests its employees for security hygiene, with social engineering becoming a major source of industry breaches. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance runs simulated phishing attacks against its own employees and can fire staff who repeatedly fail the tests, according to Binance chief security officer Jimmy Su. The fake attacks are conducted by Binance’s red team, an internal ethical hacking unit whose job is to break into systems to identify vulnerabilities. “We do phishing attacks on our own employees on a monthly basis just so we understand if our security hygiene is improving,” Su told Cointelegraph. “The ones that have failed it, we will do remediation training.”
The partnership expands Binance’s compliance efforts by providing intelligence and training to help detect cryptocurrency activity tied to human trafficking and child exploitation. [Update 16:00 UTC, July 23: Adds Chainalysis data in penultimate paragraph.] Binance has partnered with nonprofit STOP THE TRAFFIK to bolster its ability to identify and investigate cryptocurrency activity linked to human trafficking and child exploitation. The crypto exchange said Thursday that it will receive specialized intelligence, training and insights from the UK group’s Centre for Intelligence-Led Prevention to help identify emerging criminal typologies and strengthen investigations into illicit activity linked to human trafficking.
Binance set multimonth records for net BTC outflows on Tuesday, adding to an emerging trend of positive inflows to the US spot Bitcoin ETFs. Bitcoin (BTC) buyers are showing “better absorption” at $65,000 after Binance saw its largest net outflow in nearly two years. Key points: New research from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant released on Wednesday confirms that daily BTC withdrawals from the world’s biggest exchange are outpacing inflows.
Retail users in Vietnam who trade on offshore crypto exchanges like Binance or OKX face heavy penalties. Network School controversy in Malaysia over Israeli citizen ban. Vietnam will fine retail crypto users up to $1900 if they trade on unlicensed overseas platforms such as Binance, OKX and Bybit, instead of on licensed local exchanges. There’s just one problem: Vietnam’s Finance Ministry has yet to issue any exchange licenses for its regulated digital asset market which is due to start on September 1. Five exchanges have been approved in principle however. Domestic investors who trade crypto that’s been designated exclusively for foreign investors can be fined up to $3800. Crypto companies providing or advertising services without a license, those who fail to properly ID customers, or unl…
Binance is exploring new licensing paths into Europe while continuing to expand its regulatory footprint in Asia, says co-CEO Richard Teng. Binance is in talks with regulators that have invited the exchange to apply for crypto licenses following its withdrawal from the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) application in Greece, according to co-CEO Richard Teng. Teng said at the Reuters NEXT Asia conference in Singapore on Thursday that the discussions are still “premature” and declined to identify the jurisdictions. MiCA created a single licensing framework for crypto firms across the European Union. After the bloc's transition period expired on July 1, the European Securities and Markets Authority said crypto firms must serve EU clients through a MiCA-authorized entity, with limite…
Binance recorded $1.23 billion in weekly net outflows, up 207% from the previous week, as Ethereum withdrawals surged to a three-year high. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, recorded a sharp surge in weekly outflows as Ethereum withdrawal activity climbed to a multi-year high. According to DefiLlama data viewed by Cointelegraph on Sunday, Binance saw $1.23 billion in net outflows during the week beginning June 29, a 207% increase from roughly $400 million the week prior, while monthly net outflows totaled about $3.2 billion. Separately, CryptoQuant community analyst Darkfost reported Friday that Binance’s Ethereum withdrawal transactions hit their highest level in more than three years, with over 166,000 withdrawal transactions in a single day.
The integration addresses one of the biggest obstacles keeping institutional capital on the sidelines of crypto markets: exchange counterparty risk. Anchorage Digital has integrated its off-exchange settlement platform with Binance, allowing institutional clients to trade on the exchange while keeping their crypto and cash in qualified custody at the federally chartered US crypto bank rather than depositing assets directly onto Binance. Under the arrangement, institutions can use crypto assets or US dollar deposits held with Anchorage as collateral to meet Binance's margin requirements without first transferring those assets onto the exchange. The companies said the model separates custody from trade execution, allowing assets to remain with an independent custodian until settlement. The s…
One Binance customer said he lost the equivalent of more than $132,000 from the crypto exchange’s derivatives offerings before restrictions were imposed on Binance. Almost 1,700 UK investors are reportedly suing Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao for 150 million British pounds ($200 million), alleging the crypto exchange offered and sold crypto derivatives without regulatory approval. The law firm representing the investors, KP Law, said Binance’s leverage tokens, futures contracts and options offerings breached the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and that these products continued to be offered after the Financial Conduct Authority banned such products from being offered to retail customers in January 2021. “There appeared to be no effective barrier preventing UK customers from…
ESMA said EU crypto clients must be served through a MiCA-authorized entity as Binance faces questions over its servicing model in the region after the MiCA deadline. European Union crypto clients should be served through a Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA)-authorized legal entity after the bloc’s July 1 transitional deadline, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) told Cointelegraph, adding to questions over how global exchanges can keep servicing users in the region. Crypto asset service providers (CASPs) must hold MiCA authorization to serve clients across the EU and European Economic Area, an ESMA spokesperson told Cointelegraph on Monday. “EU clients should be serviced through a MiCA-authorized entity,” the ESMA representative said, adding that MiCA protections…
BitMine and Joe Lubin back a new non profit called Ethlabs that aims to spur adoption. Binance shutters services in Europe after failing to secure a license. About 60% of users who placed their first World Cup bets on Polymarket had never interacted with blockchain protocols before, suggesting prediction markets are becoming an entry point into crypto. The finding is based on a 90-day Bitget Wallet study that tracked the onchain activity of 857,000 active Polymarket users. Alvin Kan, chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, told Cointelegraph that earlier crypto onboarding efforts largely focused on making blockchain technology easier to understand through simpler wallets and better user interfaces, but users were still expected to learn how crypto worked before they could participate. “P…
Early exchange flow data show no clear signs of a mass migration from Binance ahead of the EU MiCA transition deadline, despite rivals' efforts to attract users. Binance recorded over $400 million in net outflows during the week beginning June 22, as the cryptocurrency exchange announced the withdrawal of its Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) license application in Greece. According to DefiLlama data viewed by Cointelegraph on Sunday, Binance's seven-day net outflows amount to 0.3% of its $133.3 billion in tracked assets. Excluding BNB, Binance's native token, the outflows equal 0.35% of the exchange's $113.8 billion in crypto assets.
Binance will limit EU onboarding and services from July 1 under MiCA rules after failing to gain authorization from a member state, while withdrawals remain available for users. Binance has notified European Union users that access to key services will be restricted after the exchange failed to secure Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) authorization from a member state before a July 1 deadline. Those restrictions include halting the onboarding of new EU users and limiting certain services for EU-based accounts effective July 1, according to exchange notices shared by users on social media. The notices said users will still be able to withdraw their assets after that date, stating that “all digital assets are still available for withdrawal,” in line with applicable regulatory requirements.
Binance said it plans to seek authorization in another EU jurisdiction just days ahead of the July 1 MiCA deadline, as unlicensed crypto firms are expected to wind down activities in the bloc. [Update 14:47 UTC, June 24: Updates with comments from Binance beginning in first paragraph.] Crypto exchange Binance is withdrawing its MiCA application with Greece's Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) and intends to pursue authorization in another member state just days before the deadline for EU licensing. “When we are ready to announce that Member State, we will do so publicly,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Binance co-founder Yi He warns of an alleged impersonator referred to as “Zhu Pan” in Chinese-language posts as CoinUp distances itself from the individual. Binance co-founder Yi He has warned against an alleged scammer and impersonator, prompting the crypto derivatives trading platform CoinUp to issue a statement distancing itself from the individual. Binance’s He took to X on Monday to warn against the individual referred to as “Zhu Pan,” whom she said had impersonated her in failed scam attempts, urging users to spread awareness. The comments were made in response to a widely shared Chinese-language X post that alleged CoinUp was linked to the individual, claims CoinUp later disputed.
Lawyers say MiCA rules do not bar the European Central Bank from communicating with national regulators during the application process, though crypto licensing decisions remain with member states. Binance’s faltering European Union Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) license application in Greece has raised questions about whether the bloc's central bank may have played an informal role in the process, despite not having formal authority over licensing decisions. Even though MiCA assigns approval of crypto-asset service provider (CASP) licenses to national competent authorities (NCAs), lawyers told Cointelegraph that its wording does not prevent other EU institutions, including the European Central Bank (ECB), from communicating with those regulators during the review process. “Noth…
BlockShoals’ head of legal said Binance can provide trading access under the Philippine SEC’s crypto framework, while peso transfers and other central bank-regulated services require a licensed VASP. Binance is allowed to provide crypto trading access to users in the Philippines through its arrangement with BlockShoals Technologies, but neither company is authorized to handle peso transfers or perform other activities regulated by the country's central bank, according to legal adviser Marie Antonette Quiogue. Quiogue, head of legal at BlockShoals, told Cointelegraph in an interview on Friday at Philippine Blockchain Week 2026 that Binance’s local operations fall under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crypto asset service provider (CASP) framework. She said BlockShoals serves…
