Binance Blocks SWIFT Bank Transfers For Malta As Only EU Country Besides Croatia
Crypto giant Binance has issued a list of a number of countries from which the USD SWIFT bank transfer channel will no longer be supported, with Malta and Croatia the only EU member states.
From 19th November this year, the Binance SWIFT bank deposit and withdrawal channel will no longer be supported for 81 of countries.
Besides Malta and Croatia, other European countries include Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Belarus, Macedonia, Kosovo and Iceland.
However, certain countries starring on the list are more eyebrow-raising, such as Afghanistan, North Korea, Burkina Faso, South Sudan and Congo.
Binance first voiced its plans to launch operations in Malta in March 2018, with then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat personally welcoming the firm on Twitter and Economy Minister Silvio Schembri posing for photos with its CEO Changpeng Zhao.
The crypto giant was one of the most famous crypto companies which were attracted to Malta during the period when the government was marketing the country as the ‘Blockchain Island’.
In 2019, Binance denied its plans to quit Malta, pleading to continue fully supporting Blockchain Island.
Yet the ban of Malta on the SWIFT bank transfer will come as a huge disappointment to Maltese users of its crypto platform.
It comes two months after Socios, one of Malta’s biggest blockchain companies, informed Maltese residents that they will no longer be allowed to use its sports engagement platform.
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