Florida Money Services License Reinstated for Binance.US Following Successful Appeal

Binance.US has achieved a significant victory in its fight against the suspension of its money-services business license in Florida. The Florida First District Court of Appeal has determined that the emergency suspension order issued by the state Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) was not legally justified.
The decision to suspend Binance.US’s Florida license was a response to the guilty plea of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao in federal court for violating U.S. Anti-Money Laundering law on November 21, 2023.
The appeals court referenced state law, which states that the OFR “may” suspend a money-services business license “by any procedure that is fair under the circumstances” if the agency provides valid reasons to demonstrate that the decision is fair. Additionally, the agency failed to consider less severe alternatives to suspension. The court concluded that the suspension of Binance.US’s license posed a significant risk to the more than 170,000 state account holders, who could suffer substantial financial losses and tax obligations.
It is important to note that the decision of the appeal court can still be subjected to further appeal.
In addition to Florida, several other states, including Alaska, Maine, North Carolina, and Oregon, suspended Binance.US’s activities or denied the renewal of its license this year. The status of its operations in Georgia and Ohio remains unclear. Moreover, Binance.US never functioned as a cryptocurrency exchange in Hawaii, Minnesota, New York, Texas, and Vermont.
The Florida OFR did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment from Cointelegraph regarding the case.
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