{"id":47587,"date":"2023-06-08T09:34:21","date_gmt":"2023-06-08T01:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?p=47587"},"modified":"2023-06-09T13:49:12","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T05:49:12","slug":"binance-malaysia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/binance-malaysia","title":{"rendered":"What Is Going On With Binance?"},"content":{"rendered":"
In March 2022, Binance returned to Malaysia by investing in a local fintech, MX Global Sdn Bhd, a recognised digital asset exchange platform in Malaysia. It entered into an equity investment in MX Global and stated that it is working closely with local regulatory bodies to address concerns that led to the Securities Commission in Malaysia taking enforcement action against it back in August 2021.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve been scrolling through your social media feeds or catching up with friends, you may have come across a mention of Binance<\/em>. Perhaps you\u2019ve heard that you can use it to trade cryptocurrencies, or to earn income on the side. And if that has piqued your interest enough to try to open a Binance account, you may have also noticed something else \u2013 the exchange isn\u2019t actually authorised in Malaysia.<\/p>\n What does this mean for aspiring traders and investors? Here\u2019s what you need to know about Binance, and whether you can use it in Malaysia.<\/p>\n What makes it so popular?<\/p>\n Besides that, the exchange is also responsible for creating what is now (at the time of writing) the world\u2019s third most valuable cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin and Ether: the Binance Coin (BNB). It\u2019s used to buy and sell other cryptocurrencies on Binance, as well as to cover trading fees. As of July 30, it is valued at US$309.22. That\u2019s nearly a 1400% increase from the same date last year, outpacing even Bitcoin, which rose 241% in the same period.<\/p>\n Officially, no.<\/p>\n Binance is listed on the Securities Commission Malaysia\u2019s (SC) Investor Alert List<\/a>, which identifies unauthorised websites, products, companies or individuals. The SC advises investors not to invest with any companies or individuals that aren\u2019t licensed or approved.<\/p>\n The SC\u2019s official reason for placing it on the Alert List is that Binance is operating a \u201crecognized market without authorisation\u201d. Decrypt<\/a> reported that Binance could have been blacklisted because it made the Ringgit available on its peer-to-peer exchange, despite not having the license to do so. It also promoted its platform to Malaysians and also tried to release a crypto debit card<\/a> in Malaysia without approval.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not stopping Malaysians from using the platform. A cryptocurrency trader we talked to revealed that Binance is still popular among Malaysian investors and traders, thanks to the range of currencies tradable on the platform.<\/p>\n The SC has also made it harder for Malaysians to access Binance. On July 30, it announced that it would take enforcement actions against Binance<\/a> for continuing to operate illegally in Malaysia. It has ordered Binance to:<\/p>\n The SC has also urged those who have Binance accounts to stop trading immediately and withdraw all their investments.<\/p>\n This means that you may not be able to access Binance soon, unless you change your DNS settings or connect through a VPN. However, trading on the platform may not be easy. Binance may choose to block ringgit deposits and withdrawals from the platform \u2013 similar to what has happened in the U.K., after the platform was recently banned<\/a>.<\/p>\n The SC is a valuable reference for investors. It carries out investment education initiatives and issues regulations that keep us safe from fraud. \u201cInvestors who deal with unlicensed or unauthorised entities or individuals are exposed to various risks, including fraud and money laundering, and may not have access to legal recourse in the event of a dispute,\u201d the SC warns<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Malaysians are advised not to deal with unlicensed entities, being on the SC\u2019s Alert List doesn\u2019t necessarily indicate a fraudulent platform. Binance is not licensed or regulated in Malaysia, but there are a few exchanges under the Binance brand, including Binance Singapore<\/a> and Binance.US<\/a>, which are fully compliant with the local regulations of the countries they operate in.<\/p>\n Some US citizens shared that they were able to resolve their account issues by reporting to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. Malaysians won\u2019t have this option, as the exchange is not regulated here.<\/p>\n A few months ago, a Malaysian user also shared on a Facebook Bitcoin group that their account had been frozen when attempting to buy a cryptocurrency with their BigPay card. When they contacted customer support, they were told that they had identified themselves as one of the \u201cunsupported countries\u201d, and that Binance\u2019s services are no longer available to them. The user was not able to withdraw their account holdings.<\/p>\n If you want to play it safe, consider investing via SC-approved cryptocurrency exchanges. Currently, that means three platforms: Luno<\/a>, SINEGY<\/a> and Tokenize<\/a>. They don\u2019t offer the huge range of coins on Binance, or the extra features like being able to stake your tokens, but they are regulated in Malaysia. In the event of some sort of dispute, you\u2019d have a better chance of being able to resolve it through official channels.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what you need to know about this popular cryptocurrency exchange.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[900,1],"tags":[743,630,820,635,744],"class_list":["post-47587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency","category-investment","tag-binance","tag-bitcoin","tag-crypto","tag-cryptocurrency","tag-luno"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n<\/span>What\u2019s the deal with Binance?<\/span><\/h2>\n
\nBinance is one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. On April 13, a total of US$40.33 billion<\/a> was traded on the exchange over the course of 24 hours \u2013 that\u2019s over 50 times more than the volume traded on the Bursa Malaysia, which totalled RM3,146.74 million<\/a> (or US$0.77 billion) when the market closed on the same day.<\/p>\n\n
<\/span>Can you use Binance in Malaysia?<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>Binance to be disabled in Malaysia<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\n
<\/span>Does this mean Binance is not safe to use?<\/span><\/h2>\n
But if you choose to invest with Binance through VPNs, you\u2019re doing so at your own risk. And the risks can be high \u2013 a quick glance of the Binance subreddit<\/a> shows a ton of threads from disgruntled users who discovered missing coins or have been locked out of their account. According to these users, the Binance\u2019s customer support only responds to their cases weeks later, if at all.<\/p>\n
<\/span>What other options are there?<\/span><\/h2>\n
This article was first published in April 2021 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy and comprehensiveness.<\/em><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"