Binance gets El Salvador's green light to become 'first fully licensed' crypto exchange

Binance said it received two licenses in El Salvador, becoming the "first fully licensed" crypto exchange in the Central American nation.

The two licenses — the Bitcoin Services Provider (BSP) license by the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador and the first non-provisional Digital Assets Services Provider (DASP) license by the National Digital Assets Commission of El Salvador — allow Binance to offer tailor-made products and services in the country, the company said Tuesday.

Binance had already been serving in El Salvador, but "only through an offshore exchange," a company spokesperson told The Block. The licenses now allow the company to expand its services, the spokesperson added.

"These licenses allow Binance to expand the products and services offered including options tailored to the needs of our customers in El Salvador," Daniel Acosta, general manager for Colombia, Central America and Caribbean at Binance, said in the statement. "It is also a great opportunity to collaborate closely with government authorities to support the adoption of crypto assets in the country, foster financial inclusion, innovation and ensure customer protection."

El Salvador's crypto adoption

In April, Bitfinex Securities also said it became the first fully regulated digital assets exchange to receive a DASP license in El Salvador. Binance, on the other hand, has obtained two licenses (both DASP and BSP). Also, Bitfinex Securities specifically offers trading in tokenized digital assets, such as equities and bonds.

El Salvador has been supportive of crypto since at least 2021. At the time, it became the first country in the world to recognize bitcoin as a legal tender. Earlier this year, the country also passed a law for the issuance of digital assets other than bitcoin. The law brought in a definitive regulatory framework for tokenized securities, altcoins and businesses that wish to transact or offer services focused on digital assets other than bitcoin.

With the El Salvador licenses, Binance now has regulatory approvals and registrations in 18 markets in the world, including France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Dubai. That's "more than any other crypto exchange," Binance said.

Binance is currently in a legal battle with United States regulators. Despite regulatory woes, the crypto exchange has maintained its dominant market share position and recently surpassed the 150 million mark in registered users.