Crypto CFD bans: Bybit fights back with legal team
In the follow-up of Bybit’s UK operation shut down amid the ban on crypto CFDs, the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange has appointed Daniel Lim as general counsel.
In the follow-up of Bybit’s UK operation shut down amid the ban on crypto CFDs, the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange has appointed Daniel Lim as general counsel.
The industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience will focus on global compliance matters and oversee the company’s legal team.
A spokesperson to the company told FinanceFeeds the hire of Daniel Lim is a reaction to the ban on crypto CFDs that will come into effect March 25.
“After the UK ban, Bybit is taking a proactive measure to avoid this from happening in other jurisdictions by adding internal legal counsel to their team.”
Mr. Lim was last appointed as Head of Legal and Compliance at Daiwa Capital Markets Singapore. Prior to that, he was the legal manager in charge of ABN AMRO clearing bank NV Singapore Branch, transaction manager in HSBC for corporate trust, and company secretary for Keppel Telecommunications and Transportation.
Mr. Lim will be based in the firm’s headquarters in Singapore. “We are pleased to welcome Daniel, who brings with him exceptional expertise and foresight to our burgeoning industry. Daniel will help bolster Bybit’s compliance posture in a fast-changing regulatory environment and sustain our ambition to build trust and provide value for clients around the globe”, said Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit.
Bybit is a cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform established in March 2018. The company has recently announced they will cease to provide services to customers from the United Kingdom following the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ban on crypto derivatives.
“If you are either a U.K. resident or citizen, please close all your positions and withdraw all account balances by 8AM UTC, March 31, 2021. Thereafter, customers located in or are residents of the U.K. will be restricted from accessing or performing any trading activities on Bybit.
“New sign-ups using U.K. mobiles number and/or IP addresses will be restricted immediately. We request your immediate cooperation in this matter. We regret this situation and will seek dialogue with regulators to explore options. We hope to be able to earn the privilege to serve you again in the future.”
IG Group to end crypto CFD offering by March 24, 2021
The crypto derivatives ban in the UK has been a hard blow for the ecosystem that was establishing itself in the jurisdiction. Many big names within the industry were already offering their clients access to crypto trading.
IG Group was one of them. Following the ban on the sale of derivatives and exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that reference cryptoassets to retail consumers, the trading company announced it will end its crypto offering by March 24, 2021.
The retail FX and CFD broker has restricted UK retail clients from increasing their exposure to cryptocurrencies since 6 January. The trading platform will also increase margin requirements for existing positions on Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Crypto 10 Index, EOS, Ether, Litecoin, NEO, and Stellar.
The announcement was made to the IG community platform by administrator CharlotteIG, who will take note of all feedback regarding cryptos and will pass it on to senior management.
“Please ensure that you close all your open spread bet and/or CFD positions on cryptocurrencies by no later than 3pm on Wednesday 24 March 2021, from which point we will start to close any positions still open based on our prevailing bid/ask prices. This action is taken in accordance with Term 28(3) of the latest version of the applicable customer agreement governing your account(s) with IG”, said the announcement.
