Binance registers in Sweden alongside other expansion and hiring efforts

Binance has been granted permission to operate in Sweden, according to an announcement published by the cryptocurrency exchange on Jan. 11.

Binance registers in Sweden

Today’s announcement indicates that the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) has registered Binance Nordics AB as a financial institution.

This development means that Swedish users can fully use common Binance features, including crypto trading and euro deposits and withdrawals.

Swedish users will also gain access to Binance Pay and Binance’s Visa card, which allow users to spend crypto in their accounts at various merchants.

Furthermore, Swedish users will gain access to Binance’s various staking, mining, and custody features. Meanwhile, new projects will be able to use the company’s startup programs — Launchpad and Launchpool.

Sweden is the seventh EU state that Binance has expanded to. It notably introduced its services in France in May 2022 and also held licenses in Italy, Lithuania, Spain, Cyprus, and Poland. The company now holds licenses in fifteen jurisdictions (or fourteen, excluding Sweden) and serves users in more than 140 countries.

Binance did not state when its Swedish users will see the effects of registration. However, an executive said that “successful migration and launch of local operations” will come next. The company will also hire local employees in Sweden.

Binance plans to hire spree

News of Binance’s northern expansion comes alongside reports that the company intends to grow its team in an upcoming hiring spree.

CNBC reported today that Binance plans to increase its workforce by 15% to 30% in 2023, raising its staff counts from 3,000 to approximately 8,000. CEO Changpeng Zhao announced that plan at a Switzerland conference. Zhao further explained that Binance hopes to grow in preparation for the next bull market.

By contrast, some competing exchanges are making cutbacks due to the harsh cryptocurrency market. Over the past week, Huobi announced that it would lay off about 20% of its staff, while Coinbase said it would lay off 950 workers.

Binance is currently the largest exchange by trading volume, as it has handled $7 billion of crypto trades over the past 24 hours. Its dominance likely allows it to hire aggressively even as its competitors take caution.