Binance applies for Brazil licence, delists 22 tokens

At a glance

Binance filed for authorisation as a virtual asset service provider with the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) on 23 Oct, through BBrasil, according to Valor Econômico and a company statement shared with Cointelegraph.

From 27 Oct, Brazilian users cannot open new positions in eight Binance products, and 22 tokens are no longer offered to them, under changes the exchange announced on 8 Oct.

Binance applied on Friday, 23 Oct, for a licence to keep serving Brazilian customers under the central bank’s new crypto rules, the business daily Valor Econômico reported on Monday.

The application was filed by BBrasil Sociedade Prestadora de Serviços de Ativos Virtuais, a company set up within the Binance group for the licence, according to Valor. Binance’s existing local broker, Binance Brasil Corretora de Câmbio e Valores Mobiliários, formerly Sim;paul, handles payment accounts and Pix transfers, the newspaper said.

Binance submitted a technical certification by CertiK, covering almost 900 items from security to anti-money-laundering controls, to the central bank on 1 Sept, Valor reported. That review is still under way, according to the report.

“We hope that the ongoing dialogue with the Central Bank will allow us to offer, in the near future, other products that were discontinued to comply with current regulations,” Thiago Sarandy, Binance’s general manager in Brazil, said in the statement shared with Cointelegraph.

What changes for users

The eight restricted products are Binance Loans, Binance Pool, Cloud Mining, Margin, Launchpool, Megadrop, HODLer Airdrops and Alpha 2.0, according to the exchange’s 8 Oct notice as reported by Portal do Bitcoin.

Existing loans move to repayment only, with no added fees or penalties, and remaining balances go to users’ Spot wallets, the notice said. Open margin positions can stay open for now, but users cannot add orders, funds or new loans, according to the same report.

The 22 tokens no longer offered to Brazilian users are XVG, USDE, USTC, DCR, DUSK, PIVX, BB, MANTRA, ONE, GMT, TFUEL, ZIL, ONT, RVN, ACX, HIT, PYR, VANRY, VIC, ICX, SCRT and STORJ, Portal do Bitcoin reported. Balances are not sold, and holders can withdraw them, the exchange said.

The changes apply only to Brazilian residents, not to Binance’s global customers, according to the notice.

The deadline

Resolution BCB 520, in force since 2 Feb, gave providers already operating 270 days to apply for authorisation, and a central bank instruction fixes that date as Friday, 30 Oct, according to a summary by the regulatory newsletter Carta Circular. Firms that file can keep operating during the review; filing is not approval.

Firms that miss the deadline must stop providing crypto services within 30 days, under the same article of the resolution. As CryptoWatchDesk reported on 6 Oct, banks and payment institutions face their own cut-off on 6 Nov, when they may no longer deal with unauthorised providers; see Brazil’s 30 Oct filing deadline and 6 Nov bank cut-off.

Binance Pool is also closing worldwide, a separate decision covered in the global closure of Binance Pool on 10 November.

The central bank has not said how long it will take to rule on the first phase of applications.

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This article is for information only and is not investment advice.