The leading cryptocurrency exchange is winding down its futures and derivatives products across Europe, starting in the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy.
Binance culls another of its products amid ongoing regulatory scrutiny.
Binance Closes Derivatives Offering
Binance is cutting its derivatives products in European countries.
The exchange announced the update Friday, confirming that the change would initially affect those in the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy.
Though no other countries were mentioned in the announcement, the exchange noted that it would be stopping derivatives “across the European region.”
The announcement added that the European region is “a very important market” for the exchange, and acknowledged the region’s “proactive steps towards harmonizing crypto regulations.”
The exchange confirmed that customers in the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy would be unable to open futures or derivatives accounts with immediate effect. Binance’s derivatives products include perpetuals, futures, options, and leveraged tokens.
The update is only the latest in a series of steps Binance appears to be taking to appease regulatory officials. This month, the exchange has reduced its leverage limits from 100x to 20x, reduced its daily withdrawal limits for unverified users, launched a tax reporting tool, and halted its tokenized stocks offering. The changes follow weeks of intense scrutiny from regulators worldwide. The U.K., Singapore, Japan, and Italy have all expressed concerns with Binance’s practices in recent weeks.
In response to the pressure, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has affirmed his intention to meet regulatory requirements. He penned an open letter on the subject earlier this month, before suggesting that he would like to hire a contingent CEO with a strong compliance background.