Binance's compliance journey in Europe is stumbling, as its German crypto custody license is suspected to have been rejected.

Finance Forward, which was the first to disclose Binance's cancellation of the license application in Austria, has once again revealed that the German regulatory authority has rejected Binance's registration application in the country. Recently, Binance has faced a series of rejections in registering in several European countries.

Binance Germany Executive: Regulatory Compliance is Challenging

The financial media Finance Forward reported that according to sources, Binance is planning to apply for a license in Germany, but the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority BaFin has rejected the application.

Jonas Jünger, the managing director of Binance, who took office in March this year, has been in his position for nearly 4 months. His most important task may be to ensure that Binance obtains a license in Germany. However, in an interview on June 6, he discussed the difficulty of this task:

My top priority is to establish a Binance branch in Germany, and we are currently in the process of registering, but have not yet been approved to operate. The regulatory requirements in Germany are quite high, but approval also represents a strong signal from Germany to "become a financial center."

He mentioned that Binance Germany applied for a cryptocurrency custody license in August 2022, but the average time to obtain a custody license so far is 480 days, and the cryptocurrency and custody business is relatively early stage with constantly changing regulations. He admitted that the registration process is expected to be a long-term one.

Binance Spokesperson: Unable to Disclose Details

Sources said that BaFin has explicitly rejected Binance Germany's application.

A BaFin spokesperson stated that regulatory authorities do not comment on specific companies.

A Binance spokesperson responded:

Although we cannot disclose the details of discussions with regulatory authorities, we are continuously meeting BaFin's requirements. This will be a long-term process, and we believe we have the right team, policies, and discussions with regulatory authorities.

Binance's European Expansion Faces Setbacks

If the reports are true, Binance is indeed facing significant challenges in obtaining licenses in European countries.

Recent regulatory difficulties Binance has encountered in Europe include:

• United Kingdom: Binance's UK branch has canceled its registration with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

• Netherlands: Binance has announced its exit from the Dutch market and will only provide withdrawal services after mid-July

• Belgium: The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority has ordered Binance to cease operations, potentially involving criminal penalties

• Austria: Binance has canceled its Austrian license application and will return to the EU following the MiCA framework

• France Investigation: Foreign media reported that Binance France is under investigation for money laundering, which Zhao Changpeng denied