Over the last week, customers have reported that Barclays, a British multinational universal bank, restricting payments to the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. According to Barclays, cardholders are prohibited from using Barclays debit and credit cards to make payments to Binance.
Barclay’s Tries On Damage Control
On Twitter, Barclays is in damage control mode as dissatisfied customers show their displeasure with the new policy. According to the bank’s social media account manager, Binance customers can refer to the Financial Conduct Authority’s website. They can gain “further information on Binance and investing in crypto assets generally” through the FCA.
FCA’s Word of Caution
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning for customers on June 26. This warning mentioned that Binance Markets Limited will no longer be permitted to operate. The prohibited areas include any regulated financial services in the United Kingdom. The British regulatory authorities additionally provided some essential advice on bitcoin investing:
“Be wary of adverts online and on social media promising high returns on investments in a crypto asset or crypto asset-related products… While we don’t regulate crypto assets like Bitcoin or Ether, we do regulate certain crypto-asset derivatives (such as futures contracts, contracts for difference and options), as well as those crypto assets we would consider ‘securities’ – find out more information.”
Binance’s Explaination
In a statement to users on July 1, Binance explained that BML is a separate business & legal entity. They also mentioned that the FCA’s injunction does not prevent Binance.com from doing business with UK citizens.
Warning Bells Reach The Other Banks
The warnings from FCA have alarmed other banks too. Some British banks, Monzo and Starling, allegedly blocked payments to Binance and other crypto exchanges
Moreover, the FCA and Barclays’ restrictions on Binance activity in the UK are the latest in a series of regulatory actions against founder Changpeng Zhou’s liquidity market.
On the other hand, Binance Coin (BNB) was selling slightly under $300 at the time of publication, down about 24% over the past 30 days.
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