Binance back in Malaysia via a strategic stake in regulated digital exchange

Binance, the world’s leading crypto exchange by trading volume is returning to the Malaysian markets with a strategic stake in the country’s regulated digital asset trading platfrom MX Global.

Binance and Cuscapi Berhad acquired a key stake in MX Global, one of the four Recognized Market Operators – Digital Asset Exchange licensed by the Securities Commission (SC) in Malaysia.

Hello Malaysia. https://t.co/vsHzHlm7KI

— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) March 1, 2022

The leading crypto exchange has a significant presence in the Asian region and with its new partnership in Malaysia, the exchange aims to expand the sustainable growth of the crypto market in Southeast Asia. MX Global, on the other hand, aims to bank on the recent partnership and new flow of capital to expand its market and become a leading liquidity hub in the region. 

Binance’s recent slew of partnerships also reflects a pattern of sorts, especially in regions where the exchange has found it difficult to mitigate regulatory compliance requirements independently. The crypto exchange had restricted its services in Malaysia back in July 2021 after an order from the SC over non-compliance with the regulatory laws.

A spokesperson from Binance told Cointelegraph that the recent partnership will help the crypto exchange understand the local regulatory approach and explained:

“This is part of Binance’s initiatives to cooperate with regulators. By working with regulated platforms, we are supporting local representatives to further expand their businesses while they stay compliant.”

Related: Binance exec to lead crypto expert center by Russian bank association

In Singapore, the crypto exchange withdrew its crypto license application just a week after announcing an 18% stake in the private stock exchange. The crypto exchange also managed to access the United Kingdom’s sterling payment network through its partnership with PaySafe after getting barred by the country’s regulator in 2021.

The crypto exchange undertook a similar strategy in Thailand as well, where the exchange had to shut its operation in July 2021, but made a re-entry in the Thai market through its partnership with the country’s Gulf Energy Development PCL in January 2022.

In 2021, Binance faced regulatory warnings and service restrictions from over a dozen countries. However, the exchange managed to mend its regulatory relationship in several of these nations through third-party partnerships.