Binance Crypto Exchange Licenses: A Clear 2026 Guide
The Binance crypto exchange is a major global trading venue with a regulatory record spanning licences, registrations and enforcement actions. It holds full licenses in Dubai and Bahrain, an AFSA license in Kazakhstan and a registration in India. It paid $4.3 billion to settle with the United States in 2023. In June 2026 it withdrew its Greek MiCA application before the maximum EU transitional period ended. This guide puts all of that in date order, so the approvals and the setbacks can be read side by side.
The scope is deliberate: history and licensing only. You will not find a fee table, a rating or a recommendation here.
What the Binance crypto exchange is
The Binance crypto exchange is a global spot and derivatives venue with a large set of related products, from staking to a self-custody wallet. It operates through regional entities and a separately regulated ADGM structure. The official Binance website presents its products; the contracting entity and permitted services depend on the customer’s jurisdiction.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Launched | 2017 |
| Founder | Changpeng Zhao (CZ) |
| Current co-CEOs | Richard Teng and Yi He |
| Dubai entity | Binance FZE |
| First GCC license | Bahrain, March 2022 |
| EU MiCA status (October 2026) | MiCA authorisation not established in this review |
The point that matters most here is that its licenses are local and uneven. A customer in Dubai deals with a fully licensed VARA entity. A customer in the EU, since July 2026, must verify the contracting entity’s MiCA status and service availability. Same brand, very different regulatory position.
For teams mapping product and jurisdiction requirements, read Sigma’s guide to blockchain consulting services. Qualified legal advice remains necessary for licensing decisions.
For another example of entity-specific licensing, read our guide to the Coinbase crypto exchange and its regulatory history.
2017 to 2021: growth first, licensing later
Changpeng Zhao launched the exchange in 2017. It became the largest crypto exchange by volume within a short time, largely through an offshore model that served customers around the world without local licenses in most of the countries involved.
That model is the background to almost everything that follows. US prosecutors later said that from about August 2017 until October 2022, the company and Zhao made a deliberate effort to profit from the US market without the controls US law requires. Many of the licenses the Binance crypto exchange holds today were built after regulators began to push back.
2022: the Gulf comes first
The first major licensing wins came in the Gulf.
Binance announced its first Gulf Cooperation Council crypto-asset service provider licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain in March 2022. Its Category 4 licence announcement records the subsequent Bahrain approval on 24 May 2022, covering a broader range of regulated crypto-asset services.
The next day, 16 March 2022, the Binance crypto exchange received a Virtual Asset Licence from Dubai’s newly created Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). It was an early-stage permission inside Dubai’s phased model, limited to pre-qualified investors and professional financial firms, with retail access to be opened gradually.
2023: the US settlement and a new CEO
2023 brought both progress and the most serious event in the record.
In July 2023 VARA issued Binance FZE an operational Minimum Viable Product (MVP) license. It allowed the Dubai entity to serve institutional and qualified investors with exchange and broker-dealer services, including virtual asset derivatives.
On 21 November 2023 Binance Holdings Ltd. pleaded guilty to Bank Secrecy Act, money-transmitter registration and sanctions-related offences. Zhao separately pleaded guilty to failure to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program, as documented in the DOJ’s resolution announcement. The exchange agreed to pay $4.3 billion, made up of a $1.8 billion criminal fine and $2.5 billion in forfeiture, under a settlement that let it keep operating. Zhao pleaded guilty to a Bank Secrecy Act violation, agreed to a $50 million fine and stepped down as CEO. Richard Teng, a former financial regulator in the UAE and Singapore, took over. The settlement also imposed a multi-year compliance monitorship on the company.
For teams communicating enforcement events and subsequent remediation, read Sigma’s crypto PR agency guide. Public messaging should distinguish the company’s obligations from an executive’s personal case.
2024: Dubai in full, India and Kazakhstan
The licenses that followed were granted with the US case on the record.
Dubai: the full VASP license
The VARA record for Binance FZE lists an active VASP licence issued on 15 April 2024. Permitted activities include exchange services with derivatives, broker-dealer services, management and investment, and lending and borrowing. The entity may serve retail, qualified and institutional investors, but margin and derivatives permissions are limited to qualified and institutional investors.
Read more about approval stages and license conditions in our guide to the OKX crypto exchange.
India: blocked, fined, registered
India shows the full cycle in one year. In January 2024 Binance was one of nine crypto websites the Indian government blocked for operating without proper compliance. In May it registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) as a Virtual Digital Asset Service Provider. The FIU-IND order summary dated 19 June 2024 records a penalty of 188.2 million rupees for breaches of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and related reporting rules. In its 15 August 2024 India announcement, Binance reported FIU registration and restored access to its app and website for Indian users.
Canada: a fine
According to FINTRAC’s penalty notice, Binance Holdings Limited received a CAD 6,002,000 administrative monetary penalty on 7 May 2024 for failing to register as a foreign money services business and failing to submit required large virtual currency transaction reports. This is a Canadian-dollar amount; US-dollar conversions vary by exchange rate.
For another example of why AML registration must be distinguished from an operating licence, read our guide to the LBank crypto exchange.
Kazakhstan: a full DATF license
In Kazakhstan, Binance had held in-principle authorization in the Astana International Financial Centre since August 2022 and a permanent license from October 2022, before AFSA restructured its rules for digital asset trading facilities in January 2023. Under the revised framework, Binance Kazakhstan announced a full DATF licence on 1 October 2024. AFSA’s 2024 regulatory review independently records BN KZ Technologies Limited’s transition from the FinTech Lab sandbox to full regulatory status that year.
2025: the founder’s pardon
The DOJ clemency register dates Zhao’s presidential pardon to 21 October 2025. He had received a four-month prison sentence in 2024. The listed grant is personal to Zhao and does not establish that Binance Holdings Ltd.’s separate obligations were extinguished.
On 3 December 2025, Binance appointed Yi He co-CEO alongside Richard Teng. The change is relevant to identifying current leadership, while Teng’s appointment in November 2023 remains part of the historical record.
Read more about how to build a crypto brand people trust and remember. Accurate leadership, entity and licence disclosures support clear brand communication.
ADGM: a separate regulated structure
Binance’s December 2025 authorisation announcement hosted by ADGM describes three entities for trading, clearing and custody, and brokerage. ADGM labels that announcement as an external communication. Binance’s January 2026 launch update identifies Nest Exchange Limited, Nest Clearing and Custody Limited and Nest Trading Limited as operating under FSRA supervision from 5 January 2026. These permissions are separate from Binance FZE’s Dubai licence and do not automatically confer authorisation in other countries.
2026: missing the MiCA deadline
The EU chapter is the most recent and the most important for European readers.
Before MiCA, Binance operated in parts of Europe under national registrations. The maximum transitional period ended on 1 July 2026; national periods could end earlier. A national registration does not itself establish MiCA authorisation.
Binance’s 24 June 2026 European update confirms that it withdrew its Greek MiCA application and would pursue authorisation in another EU member state. The company said it would contact affected customers with account-specific instructions.
The source review for this guide did not establish a subsequent MiCA authorisation. Check the ESMA and national registers before relying on a current status claim. Service restrictions depend on country, entity and account; the withdrawal announcement alone does not prove that every EU service stopped on the same date.
For customer communications during changes in market access, read Sigma’s crypto content marketing guide. Explain what changes, who is affected and where customers can verify the underlying permissions.
Binance crypto exchange license timeline
| Date | Jurisdiction | Regulator / authority | Event | Entity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Global | n/a | Exchange launched | Binance |
| Mar 2022 | Bahrain | CBB | Crypto-asset service provider license | Bahrain entity |
| Mar 2022 | Dubai | VARA | Initial Virtual Asset Licence | Binance FZE |
| Aug 2022 | Kazakhstan | AFSA | In-principle authorization | AIFC entity |
| Jul 2023 | Dubai | VARA | Operational MVP license | Binance FZE |
| Nov 2023 | US | DOJ and others | $4.3bn settlement, CZ steps down | Binance Holdings Ltd. |
| Jan 2024 | India | Government | Websites blocked | Global platform |
| Apr 2024 | Dubai | VARA | Full VASP license | Binance FZE |
| May 2024 | Canada | FINTRAC | CAD 6,002,000 penalty | Global platform |
| Jun 2024 | India | FIU | Fine of 188.2m rupees | Global platform |
| Aug 2024 | India | FIU | Registration, services restored | Global platform |
| Oct 2024 | Kazakhstan | AFSA | Full DATF license | Binance Kazakhstan |
| 21 Oct 2025 | US | US presidential clemency | Pardon for CZ (personal) | n/a |
| Dec 2025 / Jan 2026 | Abu Dhabi | ADGM / FSRA | Three-entity authorisation announced; regulated operations launched | Nest entities |
| Jan 2026 | EU | HCMC (Greece) | MiCA application filed | Greek entity |
| Jun 2026 | EU | HCMC (Greece) | Application withdrawn | Greek entity |
| Jul 2026 | EU | MiCA transition | Maximum MiCA transitional period ended | Global platform |
Entity names are shortened. Each regulator’s register shows the exact legal name.
Reading the Binance crypto exchange licenses carefully
Licensed in some places is not licensed everywhere. This record shows this more clearly than any other exchange in this series. Full licenses in Dubai and Bahrain say nothing about the EU, where this review did not establish a MiCA authorisation as of 3 October 2026.
Conditions matter. Binance FZE can serve retail investors within its permitted activities, but both margin trading and derivatives are limited to qualified and institutional investors under the current VARA conditions.
Registration is not the same as a license. The Indian FIU registration is an anti-money-laundering requirement with reporting duties, not a full conduct license.
For another account of registrations and jurisdiction-specific approvals, read our guide to the Bybit crypto exchange.
A pardon is personal. The 2025 pardon applies to Zhao, not to the company’s 2023 settlement.
Announcements and register entries serve different purposes. Match the legal entity, permitted activities and current conditions before treating a group-level statement as evidence of authorisation.
And no license removes market risk. Supervision governs how a firm behaves, not the result of a trade.
Licensing and technical security assessments address different risks. Read more about crypto audit services. An audit does not grant regulatory permission or guarantee exchange solvency.
How to verify a Binance crypto exchange license yourself
Check the VARA entity record linked above, the Central Bank of Bahrain Licensing Directory, the ADGM public registers and AFSA’s register for the exact AIFC entity. For EU status, consult ESMA’s MiCA registers and the relevant national authority. ESMA’s page was updated on 30 September 2026 and notes that reporting can lag national registers. For India, distinguish FIU registration from a broader conduct licence.
For platforms planning customer acquisition after establishing the relevant permissions, read Sigma’s Web3 go-to-market guide. Market access and growth planning require separate decisions.
FAQ
Is the Binance crypto exchange licensed?
In some jurisdictions. The group holds a full VASP license in Dubai, a crypto-asset service provider license in Bahrain, a full DATF license in Kazakhstan and an FIU registration in India. This source review did not establish a subsequent MiCA authorisation as of 3 October 2026. The group also announced a separate ADGM-regulated structure in December 2025.
Does Binance have a MiCA license?
A current MiCA authorisation was not established in this review. Binance confirmed withdrawal of its Greek application on 24 June 2026 and said it would pursue authorisation in another EU member state. Verify the exact entity in the latest official registers.
Is Binance licensed in Dubai?
Yes. Binance FZE received a full VASP license from VARA in April 2024.
What was the 2023 US settlement?
In November 2023 Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion and pleaded guilty to anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations. Founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty, paid a $50 million fine and stepped down as CEO.
Was Changpeng Zhao pardoned?
Yes. The DOJ clemency register dates his personal pardon to 21 October 2025.
Does a license make trading on Binance safe?
No. A license governs how the firm is supervised. Market, leverage and operational risk remain with the user.
Disclaimer: Financial markets, including crypto, forex, futures, derivatives and leveraged trading, involve risk. This content is for informational and strategic purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Sigma does not manage user funds, trade on behalf of users, or guarantee profits, withdrawals, listings or financial outcomes. Sigma is not affiliated with Binance. Linked sources were reviewed on 3 October 2026. Licence status and product eligibility may change, particularly in the EU. Always confirm a license on the regulator’s official register.
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