Britain’s financial regulator has said Binance, one among the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, cannot conduct any regulated activity and issued a warning to consumers about the platform, which is coming under growing scrutiny globally.
In a notice dated June 25, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Binance Markets Ltd, Binance’s only regulated UK entity, “must not, without the prior written consent of the FCA, perform any regulated activities… with immediate effect”.
U.K. Financial Regulator Bars Crypto Exchange Binance
JPMorgan Staff May Require Vaccines to Return to Office
China’s Crypto Crackdown Expected to Push Mining Overseas
Evergrande’s Financial Woes Deepen
Microsoft Joins Exclusive $2 Trillion Market Cap Club
It also issued a warning to consumers about Binance Markets and therefore the wider Binance group.
Binance said during a statement that Binance Markets, which it acquired in 2020, wasn’t yet using its regulatory permissions, which the FCA’s move wouldn’t impact services offered on its Binance.com website.
“We take a collaborative approach in working with regulators and that we take our compliance obligations very seriously. We are actively keeping au courant changing policies, rules and laws during this new space,” a spokesperson said.
Binance announced in June last year that it had bought an FCA-regulated entity and would use it to supply cryptocurrency trading services using pounds and euros.
AUTHORISATION
While trading of cryptocurrencies isn’t directly regulated in Britain, offering services like trading in cryptocurrency derivatives does require authorisation.
The FCA has told Binance that by June 30 it must display a notice stating “BINANCE MARKETS LIMITED isn’t PERMITTED TO UNDERTAKE ANY REGULATED ACTIVITY within the UK” on its website and social media channels.
It must also secure and preserve all records concerning UK consumers and inform the FCA this has been done by July 2.
The regulator didn’t explain why it had taken these measures.
British citizens will still be ready to access Binance’s services in other jurisdictions.
The FCA is stepping up its oversight of cryptocurrency trading, which has soared in popularity in Britain along side other countries round the globe.
Since January, the FCA has required all firms offering cryptocurrency-related services to register and show they suits anti-money laundering rules. However earlier this month it said that just five firms had registered, which the bulk weren’t yet compliant.
Japan’s regulator said on June 25 that Binance was operating within the country illegally, a notice posted on Japan’s Financial Services Agency website showed.
Last month, Bloomberg reported that officials from the U.S. Department of Justice and tax income Service who probe concealment and tax offences had sought information from individuals with insight into Binance’s business.
In April, Germany’s financial regulator BaFin said the exchange risked being fined for offering digital tokens without an investor prospectus.
