In the wake of a devastating earthquake that rocked Morocco on September 8, causing casualties in Marrakesh, Binance has pledged USD $3 million in Binance Coin (BNB) to assist the victims of this disaster.

Binance's initiative involves issuing a series of airdrops, collectively worth up to USD $3 million in its native BNB, to users residing in Morocco's heavily impacted Marrakesh region. This earthquake, registering a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale, left more than 2,000 fatalities in Marrakesh, the nation's fourth-largest city.

Targeted Aid Distribution

Changpeng Zhao, the Founder and CEO of Binance, expressed deep sympathy for the Moroccan people, saying: "The impact of the earthquake on the Moroccan people is devastating. We hope we can bring some support to those affected. For Moroccan users who receive these donations but are not impacted by the earthquake, we ask them to pass the fund on to those most in need."

Users residing in the Marrakesh-Safi province, the hardest hit area, will receive USD $100 worth of BNB tokens directly into their Binance accounts. For Moroccan users outside of this region, Binance plans to airdrop $10 in BNB to each user. This initiative will benefit nearly 70,000 Binance's users residing in Morocco, with the aid distribution schedule to commence on September 12.

In addition to the airdrop initiative, Binance has created a public wallet address that is now accepting contributions for further aid. These contributions can be made in BNB, BTC, ETH, USDC, or BUSD, the company said.

This is not the first time the cryptocurrency exchange has mobilized cryptocurrency for humanitarian aid. In March, Binance undertook a similar aid campaign for those affected by earthquakes along the Turkey-Syria border by providing USD $100 worth of BNB tokens to the victims.

Binance's Departure from Cyprus

Meanwhile, in a recent development, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has officially removed Binance Cyprus Limited from its register of service providers of crypto assets. According to a report by Finance Magnates, the deregistration comes as a result of the company's prolonged inactivity in offering services under the Cypriot crypto license for more than six consecutive months.

In June, Binance initiated the process of deregistering its local subsidiary in Cyprus. Despite holding the necessary license, the company did not provide any clear explanation for maintaining a dormant presence in the Cypriot crypto market. Binance secured a Class 3 registration as a CASP from CySEC in October last year.

Besides that, Binance.US, the US arm of the global crypto exchange, has responded strongly to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in an ongoing legal dispute. The exchange's legal team filed sealed documents today (Tuesday), deeming many of the regulator's demands "unreasonable" and "unduly burdensome."