The decision comes in response to regulatory restrictions imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority on its United Kingdom affiliate, REBS.
Crypto exchange behemoth, Binance, will cease onboarding users in the United Kingdom effective from 5:00 pm local time on October 16th.
Per Binance’s official announcement, this strategic move materialized in the wake of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the UK imposing legally binding constraints upon its associate, Rebuildingsociety.com Ltd (REBS), on October 10th. Among the stipulations laid out, one notably proscribed REBS from actively promoting Binance’s suite of goods and services. The exchange communicated:
“Binance is currently actively seeking a fresh FCA-authorized intermediary. Nonetheless, it’s imperative to acknowledge the advent of temporary restrictions set to take effect on our Platform (i.e., www.binance.com/en-GB, and the latest iteration of our Mobile App) while Binance aligns itself with a new FCA-authorized intermediary and regains the requisite approvals for its financial promotions.”
For the existing Binance user base within the United Kingdom, it’s a sigh of relief as their services shall remain uninterrupted. Nevertheless, the exchange has clarified that “any novel products or services shall remain temporarily unavailable during this interim phase.” Various offerings such as gift cards, Binance Academy, Binance Research, Binance Feed, and Referral Bonuses, which are readily accessible on the international Binance platform, are presently inaccessible on its UK counterpart.
The FCA, in its pursuit of tightening oversight, has initiated the enforcement of a series of novel regulations related to cryptocurrency marketing. These rules require cryptocurrency exchanges to advertise to UK consumers in a clear, equitable, and transparent manner, along with providing comprehensible risk warnings. At the time of the enforcement, FCA-registered entities were also bestowed with the authority to market products and services on behalf of foreign entities lacking FCA registration. Binance’s original intent was to leverage REBS to enable its UK-based users to access the exchange’s array of products and services via a locally tailored domain, as Binance itself isn’t registered with the FCA.
