Crypto exchange Binance to wind down derivatives in Europe

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance said on Friday it would wind down its futures and derivatives products offerings across Europe, the latest move by the platform as pressure grows from regulators across the world.

With immediate effect, Binance users in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands would be unable to open new futures or derivatives products accounts, the exchange said in a statement on its website.

Increasingly worried over consumer protection and the standard of anti-money laundering checks at crypto exchanges, a string of regulators across the world – including Britain, Germany, Hong Kong and Italy – have in recent weeks ratcheted up pressure on Binance, one of the world’s largest exchanges by trading volumes.