Binance.US has achieved a victory in its fight against the suspension of its money-services business license in Florida. The Florida First District Court of Appeal has ruled that the emergency suspension order issued by the state Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) lacked legal justification.
The suspension of Binance.US’s Florida license was a consequence of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao’s admission of guilt in federal court for violating U.S. Anti-Money Laundering law on November 21, 2023.
The appeals court referred to 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 presents reasons to demonstrate that the decision is fair. Furthermore, the agency did not explore alternatives to suspension that were less severe. The court determined that the suspension of the Binance.US license put over 170,000 state account holders at risk of significant financial losses and tax obligations.
It’s important to note that the decision of the appeal court can still be appealed.
The OFR suspended Binance.US’s license one week after Zhao’s guilty plea, making it the first of several states to take such action. Binance filed an appeal against the OFR’s decision on March 25, although the details of this document have not been made public. Binance.US’s website announced that the “new user onboarding is temporarily paused” in Florida.
In addition to Florida, Binance.US faced suspensions or license renewal denials in other states this year, including Alaska, Maine, North Carolina, and Oregon. Its status in Georgia and Ohio remains uncertain. The company never operated as a cryptocurrency exchange in Hawaii, Minnesota, New York, Texas, and Vermont.
The Florida OFR has not yet responded to a request for comment on the case from Cointelegraph.
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