Cambodia has stepped up its efforts to regulate cryptocurrency by blocking access to 16 major cryptocurrency exchange websites, including Binance, Coinbase and OKX, Nikkei Asia reported on December 3.
The Telecommunications Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) issued the directive, citing the lack of licenses from the Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC). However, the mobile applications of these platforms remain accessible.
The directive is part of a broader crackdown targeting 102 domains, most of which belong to online gaming sites. Binance, despite partnering with SERC in 2022 to help develop crypto regulations, is among those affected.
Binance also trained Cambodian officials in crypto crime detection earlier this year.
So far, only two companies have obtained licenses under the SERC’s FinTech Regulatory Sandbox program, but their operations are limited to trading digital assets without fiat currency exchanges.
Despite these restrictions, Cambodia ranks among the top 20 countries in the world for retail crypto usage, with centralized exchanges accounting for 70% of transactions.
Experts remain skeptical about the effectiveness of such bans. “Restrictions don’t work where there is organic demand,” said Chengyi Ong, Asia Pacific head of Chainalysis.
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