Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, has been banned by the UK.
The UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has ruled that the firm cannot conduct any “regulated activity” in the UK.
It also issued a consumer warning about Binance, advising people to be wary of adverts promising high returns on crypto-asset investments. The regulator also stressed that no entity in the Binance Group holds any form of authorisation, registration or licence to conduct a regulated activity in the UK.
Binance, in response, has said the FCA notice would have no “direct impact” on the services it provides from its website. Binance’s existing crypto exchange is not UK-based so despite the FCA ruling, there will be no impact on British residents who use the website to purchase and sell cryptocurrencies.
The UK’s FCA does not regulate cryptocurrencies but requires exchanges to register with them. So since Binance has not registered with the FCA it is, therefore, is not allowed to operate an exchange in the UK.
Binance is an online centralised exchange that offers users a range of financial products and services, including purchasing and trading a wide range of digital currencies, as well as digital wallets, futures, securities, savings accounts and even lending.
This is not the first time that Binance has come under scrutiny by regulators over its global operations. In the US, one of the firm’s entities – Binance Holdings – has been the subject of a probe by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), specifically by its officials dealing with money laundering and tax offences, according to Bloomberg.
The company is currently based in the Cayman Islands. It was previously based in Malta.