Binance in Taiwan and Hong Kong: Licensing and Registration Status

Readers in Taiwan and Hong Kong tend to ask the same question: where does Binance actually stand where I live? You don't have to take anyone's word for it. Both regulators keep a public list, and the list is the answer. This page covers regulatory status only — it isn't a guide to opening an account.

Hong Kong: the SFC licensing regime and where Binance stands

Hong Kong brought virtual asset trading platforms under a licensing regime. In the SFC's own words, centralised virtual asset trading platforms carrying on business in Hong Kong, or actively marketing their services to Hong Kong investors, are required to be licensed and regulated by the SFC. Which platforms hold a licence is published in a list on the SFC's own site.

The SFC's lists of virtual asset trading platforms page is split into several sub-lists: licensed VATPs, applicants, returned, refused or withdrawn applications, and closing-down platforms. The page carries an update date of 29 May 2026 and shows 13 licensed platforms. Binance is not on that licensed list.

The count and the names both move. To know where a platform stands right now, open the list above and read the current version rather than taking the number from this page.

Taiwan: the FSC registration regime and where Binance stands

Taiwan took a different route: registration. According to an FSC press release dated 5 December 2024, the VASP anti-money-laundering registration regime added by Article 6 of the Money Laundering Control Act — together with criminal liability for unregistered operators — took effect on 30 November 2024. Providing virtual asset services without completing registration carries up to two years' imprisonment, detention, or a fine of up to NT$5 million, or both; where the offender is a legal person, the company itself faces a fine of up to NT$50 million on top of the penalty on the individual responsible (FSC press release, in Chinese). On the face of the provision, that liability sits with the operator, not with users.

The FSC's Securities and Futures Bureau publishes the providers that have completed registration. Binance is not among the registered providers currently named on that page.

Separately, on 30 June 2026 the Legislative Yuan passed the Virtual Asset Service Act on its third reading, moving exchanges onto an FSC licensing regime with a higher bar than the current registration one. The commencement date is to be set by the Executive Yuan; providers already AML-registered will have 12 months from commencement to apply and 21 months to obtain a licence (FSC press release on the third reading, 30 June 2026, in Chinese). The rules are shifting and the lists shift with them, which is why the two official lists below are the durable answer here, not this article.

What this means if you live there

One thing is settled: on the current version of both official lists, Binance is neither licensed in Hong Kong nor among Taiwan's registered providers. From that, a few things follow.

• What's required of licensed platforms isn't required of unlicensed ones: the SFC's requirements for licensed VATPs — custody and segregation of client assets, disclosure, complaint handling — are obligations the licensing regime places on licence holders. A platform that isn't on the list isn't carrying those obligations by way of the SFC. What a local regulator could actually do in a given dispute depends on the case, and we won't pre-judge that for you.
• Taiwan's criminal liability attaches to the operator: under Article 6 of the Money Laundering Control Act as described in the FSC release above, an operator providing virtual asset services without completing registration faces criminal liability. That's what the provision says about operators, and it's a different category of problem from "the platform is awkward to use." How it applies to any specific situation is for the authorities and the courts to determine.
• Status changes: licences and registrations get granted, amended, and withdrawn, and Taiwan has a new act awaiting commencement. This page was checked in July 2026 — don't read it as a conclusion about any later date.

How to check the official lists yourself

Both lists are public. Opening them yourself beats trusting any second-hand write-up, this one included:

• Hong Kong: the SFC's lists of virtual asset trading platforms — the lists themselves, not the page explaining the regime. Licensed, applicants and closing-down platforms are listed separately, and the page shows its own update date. Look for the platform name directly.
• Taiwan: the FSC Securities and Futures Bureau's page for enterprises and persons providing virtual asset services (in Chinese) — it names the providers that have completed AML registration, with their business registration numbers, alongside records such as revoked registrations.

Check which legal entity you're looking at. A group company with a similar — or even identical — name holding a licence doesn't mean the platform you had in mind holds one. Taiwan's list gives a business registration number for each provider; match on that before you conclude anything.

Where we stand

KYC Lane is an independent information site. We're not Binance official and we have no affiliation with Binance. Given the public facts above, we don't promote Binance sign-up to readers in Taiwan or Hong Kong. There's no invite code and no sign-up link on this page, and that's deliberate.

This page was checked in July 2026 and describes the publicly available regulatory status at that point. It isn't legal advice or investment advice. Regulatory status changes; the SFC and FSC lists, as they currently stand, govern at all times. If we've got something wrong here, email [email protected] and we'll correct it and log the change.