At the turn of the year, the Central Bank authorized the acquisition by Binance from the Brazilian broker Yes;paulannounced the cryptocurrency platform this Thursday (2). With the approval of the BC, the exchange becomes the first in the country with a securities brokerage license – there are, however, others with a Payment Institution license.
Binance has been awaiting regulatory clearance since March 2022, when it announced the deal with Sim;paul. The brokerage holds electronic currency issuance (EMI) and securities distribution licenses granted by the BC, assets that, according to Binance, help the company “be more effective in complying with ongoing regulatory advances”.
“The approval received in Brazil highlights our commitment to compliance and security, and we will continue to offer our local users a safe, reliable and innovative platform to meet their crypto needs,” highlighted Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, in a note.
The acquisition of Sim;paul, which is based in Porto Alegre, comes before Brazilian legislation requires cryptocurrency platforms to have physical representation in the country. The rules that will guide the market are still under debate in public consultations by the BC, but a Bill approved by the Chamber proposes to require headquarters in Brazil for exchanges that operate in the national territory, even before the establishment of the BC licensing regime. The PL will still be evaluated in the Senate, and awaits the definition of a rapporteur.
“This license represents a significant milestone in Binance’s ongoing commitment to expanding its products and services in Brazil,” comments Guilherme Nazar, Binance’s regional vice president for Latin America.
Binance is still the world’s biggest, but it has seen the gap to its rivals narrow over the past year since it paid a historic fine and its then-CEO, , was arrested as part of a deal with US regulators.
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According to data from CCData, Binance registered in October 2024 a market share of 36.6% between trading in the spot and derivatives markets, the lowest level since 2020 – coincidentally, the last time Bitcoin began a rally following a long “winter”.
Updated data from data aggregator CoinGecko shows that Binance has 70 million monthly visits, compared to 60 million for the American Coinbase. The difference in volume moved, however, is large, with Binance registering around 2.8 times more than second place.
“People talk about changes in our market sharebut remember: global crypto adoption is just 1-2%, there is room for everyone,” said Binance global executive Vishal Sacheendran in an interview. InfoMoney.
