Binance cancels UK registration as exit from Europe persists
Binance Markets Limited (BML), the UK subsidiary of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has officially canceled its unused permissions granted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
As a result, the company will no longer be able to offer regulated activities and products, as confirmed by a statement issued by the regulator. Binance’s UK arm has voluntarily requested the withdrawal of its registration and the process was finalized on May 30, 2023, and is now reflected on the FCA Register.
“Following the completion of the cancellation of permissions the firm is no longer authorised by the FCA. No other entity in the Binance Group holds any form of UK authorisation or registration to conduct regulated business in the UK,” said the FCA.
“As these permissions were unlikely to be required in the future, Binance Markets Limited decided that it would be prudent to cancel them in line with the FCA’s recommendations to keep these updated,” a Binance spokesperson said.
Binance’s relationship with the UK regulator has been marked by a tumultuous past. Since 2021, the government body has issued numerous statements cautioning UK residents against engaging in trading activities on the Binance platform.
At the time, Binance was unable to meet the AML requirements set up by the FCA. This became clear in the regulator’s letter to Binance Markets Limited, the group’s UK arm, pointing out the firm ‘refused’ to respond to basic questions including the ones relating to money laundering, organizational structure, and even the legal entity in charge of its product offering.
Binance was also obliged in 2021 to add a notice in a prominent place on its website and apps informing Brits that it’s not approved to offer them any services.
The recent development comes barely a week after Binance submitted an application to withdraw its operations from Cyprus. The company currently undergoes a review process to deregister in anticipation of the forthcoming Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation by the European Union.
By proactively seeking this rescission, Binance claims it wants to focus on meeting the requirements of the upcoming regulations.
The crypto giant also announced exiting the Netherlands following the rejection of its application to register under the Dutch crypto authorization regime. Citing the inability to obtain registration as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) with the Dutch regulator, Binance stated on Friday that it would no longer be able to serve clients from the country.
