Binance to Transfer Dutch Clients to Local Rival Coinmerce

As Binance is exiting the Dutch market, the crypto exchange has entered into an agreement with its local rival Coinmerce to transfer its Dutch users. Binance will cease its operations in Holland on 17 July.

Binance to Dutch Transfer Local Rival

According to Coinmerce, Binance will refer its “hundreds of thousands [of] Dutch users” to the rival platform, making it the largest crypto exchange in the Netherlands in terms of “products, assets, and users.” Unlike Binance, Coinmerce is a registered crypto exchange and wallet service provider in Holland.

“Our priority is to ensure an orderly transition,” Coinmerce's CEO, Jaap de Bruijn, said. “Urgent treatment of these users is necessary. The crypto assets of the Dutch users at Binance will be transferred to Coinmerce via a controlled transition.”

Binance announced its decision to exit the Dutch market mid-last month as it failed to obtain a virtual asset service provider (VASP) from the local regulator. The exchange immediately terminated the onboarding of new Dutch residents as customers. Existing Binance customers are only allowed to withdraw their funds until the complete termination of the operation on 17 July.

In an earlier official notice, the exchange urged its Dutch users to withdraw their holdings on the exchange before the deadline.

“We are very proud of this partnership with Binance,” said Nick Smits van Oyen, the Co-Founder of Coinmerce. “We offer these users an equivalent platform that complies with all European laws and regulations. The transition will be smooth and, in consultation with Binance, we have made the transition for users as easy as possible. The user will receive an email from Binance, and from there, the simple step-by-step process will start.”

Troubles of Binance

Meanwhile, Binance is facing serious regulatory troubles globally, as many of its business units are now under examination. The exchange was reportedly raided in France for an alleged inspection into its illegal crypto services and money laundering lapses. The Dutch regulator also fined the exchange 3.3 million euros last year for operating without any registration.

Binance further decided to deregister its Cypriot entity while it completed the deregistration of its UK unit, Finance Magnates reported. However, Binance clarified that the cancellation of the UK unit was around non-crypto-related activities. Furthermore, Germany’s Bafin joined other regulators in rejecting an application of Binance to become a regulated entity in the country.