Binance US Regains Florida License After Favorable Court Ruling

Binance US, one of the leading cryptocurrency platforms in the United States, managed to overturn the suspension of its money services license in Florida. The ruling came after a successful appeal to Florida’s First District Court of Appeal, which argued that the state’s Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) had not provided sufficient legal justification for such a move.

This suspension was initially triggered by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao’s guilty plea on November 21, 2023, to federal charges of violating US anti-money laundering laws. The court, however, noted that the relevant state law confers a certain discretion, indicated by the use of the term “may,” that does not automatically mandate the suspension of licenses in these circumstances.

The court decision was clear in requiring the OFR to present more robust arguments beyond merely citing the statute and to consider less drastic alternatives than total suspension. The court also underscored the significant financial risks to the more than 170,000 account holders in Florida, stating that requiring immediate compliance with the suspension “would necessitate liquidating each customer’s digital assets [que] threatens to cause financial damage due to fluctuations in digital asset prices.”

After the suspension is lifted, Binance US can resume its operations in Florida, although it has decided to temporarily pause the onboarding of new users in the state, while maintaining service to existing customers. The status of Binance US is still uncertain in other states such as Georgia and Ohio, with the company not operating in places such as Hawaii, Minnesota, New York, Texas and Vermont.

The Florida court’s decision allows Binance US to continue operating, thus avoiding potential financial losses to a large number of users in the state. The case’s resolution could influence similar decisions in other states that followed Florida’s lead following the charges against Zhao.

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