The British financial watchdog orders Binance to suspend “managed operations”

Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, was ordered to cease all regulated operations in the UK after the country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reviewed the operation.

“Binance Markets Limited is not authorized to conduct regulated activities in the UK,” the FCA said in a statement, adding that no other Binance group company has licenses required to operate in that country.

When issuing the reprimand, the FCA also issued an urgent warning against investing with unauthorized exchanges:

“Most of the companies that promote and sell crypto investments are not authorized by the FCA. This means that if you invest in certain cryptocurrencies, you won’t have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Program if something goes wrong. “

While the FCA does not regulate cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH), its mandate regulates trading in derivatives, including futures and options contracts. The FCA is also targeting digital assets that are classified as securities.

Binance clarified its corporate structure in a response to the FCA on Sunday. Binance Markets Ltd. is “a separate legal entity and does not offer any products or services through the Binance.com website,” the exchange. tweeted, More:

“The announcement by the UK FCA has no direct impact on the services offered on http://Binance.com.”

The announcement by the UK FCA has no direct impact on the services offered on https://t.co/QILSkzx7ac.

Our relationship with our users has not changed. (3/4)

– Binance (@binance) June 27, 2021

The FCA’s decision comes just a day after Binance announced it was leaving another major market. Users in the Canadian province of Ontario, home to 15 million people, must close all active positions by the end of the year.

Connected: Binance is ceasing operations in Ontario following a regulatory procedure

Binance informed its users on Friday that Ontario had become a “restricted jurisdiction” without giving the reason for the withdrawal. However, a major crackdown on crypto exchanges by the Ontario Securities Commission OSC could play a key role in this decision.

As reported by Cointelegraph, the OSC has taken action against the parent companies of Kucoin and Poloniex for alleged violations of securities laws. Earlier this month, the regulator announced that it would hold hearings against Bybit for similar violations.