UK regulator bars crypto platform Binance Markets
Updated
A British financial regulator issued a statement at the weekend saying crypto trading platform Binance Markets is not allowed to offer services in the UK and told consumers in the country to “be wary” of advertisements for cryptocurrency products.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Saturday (26 June) that Binance Markets “is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK” and that no entity within the Binance Group has legal authority to offer services in the country.
The FCA said that the Binance Group “appear[s] to be offering UK customers with a range of products and services via a website, Binance.com”.
Separate entity
The trading platform appeared to reject the FCA’s statement via Twitter, saying that Binance Markets is a separate legal entity to Binance Group and that it does not offer services via the Binance.com website.
“Our relationship with our users has not changed, and that the FCA statement had no direct impact on the services provided by the firm,” the tweet said.
"We are aware of recent reports about an FCA UK notice in relation to Binance Markets Limited (BML).
— Binance (@binance) June 27, 2021
BML is a separate legal entity and does not offer any products or services via the https://t.co/QILSkzx7ac website. (1/4)"
“We take a collaborative approach in working with regulators and we take our compliance obligations very seriously. We are actively keeping abreast of changing policies, rules and laws in this new space,” Binance tweeted.
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China bans
The FCA’s announcement comes after Chinese authorities this month extended their crackdown on crypto mining, banning it from its southwest province of Sichuan.
In addition, the FCA’s statement on Binance also warned consumers of online advertisements that promise high returns on crypto investments.
“Most firms advertising and selling investments in cryptoassets are not authorised by the FCA. This means that if you invest in certain cryptoassets you will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if things go wrong,” said the FCA.
Bitcoin rises
Bitcoin gained on Monday (28 June), trading 5.1% higher at $35,309 as of 00:19 a.m BST (GMT+1). According to Bloomberg, crypto traders can interpret the tough regulatory action as a sign that the market is maturing, and that greater regulatory oversight will bring more players into the market.
Binance is the largest crypto exchange globally by volume, trading nearly 80% more than second-placed ZG.com.
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