Key Points
- Binance faces more pain as its plan to get regulated in the U.K. following issues in the U.S. falls through
- The exchange has been on a rough patch lately, with several other nations expressing dissatisfaction with it, including Canada, Netherlands, and Australia.
Binance is set to endure more pain as its plan to get regulated in the United Kingdom as a replacement for the United States falls through. A report from its regional manager indicates that the exchange has had to de-register with the FCA but assured users that the process does not have an operational impact as it never did any regulated business in the U.K.
Regulators keep haunting Binance
Regulators keep going after the world’s largest exchange, Binance, for not complying with their set rules. On June 19, 2023, the exchange’s regional manager expressed that it had to de-register with the U.K. FCA. Binance Markets Limited is the exchange subsidiary forced to de-register with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the U.K. Following the de-registration, no Binance entity will be authorized to conduct any operations in the U.K. per information offered by the regulator on its official website.
According to the FCA, the operating license was canceled on May 30, with the exchange being required to leave. “Following the completion of the cancellation of licenses, the FCA no longer authorises the firm,” the regulator noted in an update on June 7.
However, Ilir Laro, Binance’s sub-regional manager for growth in the U.K. and Europe, has expressed that the exchange’s operations weren’t and won’t be impacted by the move as they never conducted any regulated business there.
“BML was successfully acquired back in 2020 by Binance Group, intended to launch a regulated business in the U.K. This attempt was not successful, however, and has since then remained dormant since its acquisition.”
Laro explained that Binance still holds five regulated entities in Europe in countries like France, Spain, Sweden, Poland, and Italy.
“As MiCA kicks into force in 2024/5, we are moving focus to getting ready which means some consolidating in order to passport throughout Europe,” he said.
Is it just FUD or a change of tides?
It is not the first time the exchange has landed on a rough patch with regulators. It has been forced to withdraw licenses in countries like the Netherlands, Nigeria, Holland, and Cyprus and stopped offering Australian Dollar services.
IlIr Laro has called out the FUD, saying it is nothing much to worry about as the company is bracing for changes in regulatory scope. He explained some of the developments saying they left Cyprus in anticipation of MiCA, left Holland due to not obtaining a license, and Nigeria is chasing away Binance Nigeria Limited, a company that is not owned or affiliated with Binance.
Keep watching Fintech Express for updates on this and other Fintech-related developments.