Binance to remain unregulated in UK
By Jenni Reid
15:13, 25 August 2021
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has complied with all requirements imposed on it by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) earlier this year, the regulatory body said today.
These included displaying notes on its website stating that it is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK, and that some of its products and services are regulated outside the UK while others are not.
Binance was also told to remove live advertising and financial promotions, and secure and preserve all records and information relating to its UK consumers in a form in which they can be provided to the FCA if requested.
Binance is the world’s biggest crypto exchange by volume.
Non-compliant?
On Wednesday, the FCA published a supervisory notice in which it stated Binance was “not capable of being effectively supervised”.
This was due to Binance’s UK arm, which was acquired by Binance Capital Management Ltd in May 2020, refusing to respond to queries such as how the business and group are organised and the routes for UK consumers to purchase products, and refusing to identify the legal entity behind binance.com.
“This is of particular concern in the context of [the UK branch]’s membership of a global group which offers complex and high-risk financial products, which pose a significant risk to consumers,” the FCA continued.
UK customers can still trade derivatives and other products on binance.com.
More compliance?
Various regulatory agencies have taken aim at the company in recent months, with Malaysia’s securities regulator banning its operations in the country earlier this month, and regulators in Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand all issuing warnings over the company.
Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao has been seeking to improve the company’s relationship with regulators, with a July blog detailing the company's plans to beef up its compliance team and advisory board and localise operations to better comply with regulatory requirements.
Read more: Binance suspends deposits from key EU payments network
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