Austria’s financial regulator said it banned KuCoin’s European arm from conducting new business and onboarding clients after the crypto exchange lost key compliance staff just months after obtaining a Markets for Crypto Assets (MiCA) permit to operate across the European Union.
KuCoin EU no longer has key functions in combating money laundering (AML) and preventing the financing of terrorism, according to a statement from the regulator, the FMA, which granted the license in November. The freeze will last until the company designates the necessary staff to conduct compliance reporting, he said.
“Effective staffing of these key functions is a prerequisite for the orderly development of business,” the FMA said. The exchange is “prohibited with immediate effect from concluding business relationships of any kind with new customers and entering into new contracts or new products within the scope of existing business relationships until these key functions have been adequately performed.”
Kucoin said the positions are being filled as part of an expansion of the compliance team in Austria.
“Our priority in Austria is to establish a governance framework that reflects the expectations of European regulators and the responsibility we have towards the EU market,” said Sabina Liu, CEO of KuCoin EU. “By investing in experienced local compliance professionals, we are reinforcing an operating model that prioritizes compliance and is designed for long-term stability and transparency.”
Austria has become a popular destination for crypto exchanges looking to move to Europe through MiCA, and companies such as Bitpanda, Bybit, and Bitget have set up bases in Vienna.
When the license was granted, the FMA said that the key functions of AML officer and sanctions compliance officer and their respective deputies were filled in accordance with MiCA and the Financial Markets Anti-Money Laundering Act (FM-GwG; Finanzmarkt-Geldwäschegesetz).
“To the FMA’s knowledge, this is no longer the case,” the FMA stated.
