In the light of the recent regulatory concerns, Binance has decided to reduce its derivatives services in some European countries, including Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. In addition, it is to close in Malaysia.

The shambles of the British financial watchdog has set off a veritable avalanche. Ever since the FCA issued a warning about Binance's activities, the world's most popular stock exchange has been under fire. Several banks and payment service providers in island countries have announced that they are banning their customers from transferring funds to Binance, and financial regulators in several countries have warned that the cryptocurrency exchange does not have the necessary licences to operate.

The world's leading cryptocurrency exchange has now announced that it will stop offering futures and derivatives products in three European countries.

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Dutch, Italian and German users have three months to close their positions

According to the announcement on 30 July, customers in these countries will not be able to open new futures accounts on Binance "with immediate effect". Those who already have an account and are actively using it will have 90 days to sort it out. The move is part of the company's longer-term strategy to "continuously evaluate our products and work with our partners to meet the needs of our users".

Malaysia is toughening up

Malaysia, meanwhile, has announced that Binance is operating illegally in the country and has called on the company to cease its activities. The local Securities and Exchange Commission (SC) found that Binance had continued to operate in Malaysia despite previous warnings, although the organisation had placed it on a so-called alert list for offering services to local customers for which it was not properly licensed.

Binance has 14 working days from 26 July to comply with the injunction, which includes the blocking of its website and mobile apps, as well as the halting of all media campaigns related to its services in the country. The head of the cryptocurrency exchange, Changpeng Zhao, has so far not reacted to the decision by the Asian country's authorities.