Binance Markets Limited, the British affiliate of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is now compliant with the requirements that the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority imposed on the company in June, the FCA said Wednesday.
Fast facts
- The FCA had, back in June, issued a warning to Binance Markets Limited and the Binance Group and imposed restrictions on Binance’s activities in the U.K., including: forbidding Binance to undertake any regulated activities without the prior written consent of the FCA, displaying a notice with the restrictions imposed on its website and social media channels, and ceasing advertising and promotional activities in the U.K. At the time, FCA also said it considered Binance as “not capable of being effectively supervised.” Following the FCA’s warning, many large banks — including Barclays, NatWest and HSBC — blocked customer payments to Binance. In response, Binance also suspended euro deposits via the E.U.’s Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) bank transfers, which had been a way for customers to purchase crypto using fiat.
- In an update on Wednesday, the FCA said: “On 25 June 2021, the FCA imposed requirements on Binance Markets Limited. The firm complied with all aspects of the requirements. See our Supervisory Notice. See the FCA Register for any requirements that apply to the firm.”
- Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”) shared the FCA update on Twitter and said, in a separate tweet shortly after: “Positive progress. One small step at a time. Slowly, but surely. #BNB.” Binance Coin (BNB), the fourth largest cryptocurrency by trading volume, is trading around US$500 as of publishing time, up 25% over the past seven days, according to CoinGecko data.
- In response to a request for comment, a Binance spokesperson told Forkast.News: “As noted by the FCA, Binance Markets Limited has fully complied with all aspects of its requirements. We continue to engage with the FCA to resolve any outstanding issues that may exist. As the cryptocurrency ecosystem industry continues to grow and evolve we are committed to working with regulators and policymakers to develop policies that protect consumers, encourage innovation, and move our industry forward.”
- Binance — which operates the world’s largest spot and derivatives cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume — has been in the crosshairs of regulators around the world over its stock tokens, derivatives trading services and know-your-customer (KYC) practices. In response, Binance has been on a hiring spree to boost its compliance headcount and recently hired Greg Monahan, a former U.S. Treasury criminal investigator, as its global money laundering reporting officer, as well as former eToro Money U.K. Director of Compliance Jonathan Farnell as Binance’s new director of compliance. Binance CEO Zhao recently said that the exchange was taking steps “to be more compliant with local regulations everywhere” and would actively work with regulators.