The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has ruled that Binance cannot conduct any “regulated activity” in the UK. It has further imposed stringent requirements, one of the most significant moves any global regulator has made against Binance worldwide. Binance has until Wednesday evening to confirm whether it has complied with FCA’s demands.
Binance is an online leading centralised exchange that offers its users a range of financial services and products. These include trading and purchasing a wide range of digital currencies, digital wallets, securities, savings accounts, lendings, and futures.
Regulators worldwide are cracking down on the cryptocurrency industry, pertaining to fears regarding its role in illegal activities such as fraud and money laundering and weak customer protection.
Binance has commented that the FCA notice has no “direct impact” on the services it provides from its website binance.com as it isn’t a UK-based crypto exchange, meaning there will no impact on the residents to use the website. Binance further said it takes “a collaborative approach in working with regulators” and takes “compliance obligations very seriously.”
As Binance has not registered with the FCA, it isn’t allowed to operate a crypto exchange. “Binance Markets Limited is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK,” the FCA said, adding, “no other entity in the Binance Group holds any form of UK authorisation, registration, or licence to conduct regulated activity in the UK.”
FCA’s decision comes after the Financial Services Agency of Japan last week warned that Binance has been conducting unauthorised trade in cryptocurrency with Japanese citizens.
