June 27, (THEWILL) – The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has ordered Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, to cease all regulated activities in the UK.
Imposing a slew of rigorous conditions, the FCA banned Binance from advertising and establishing a UK-based operation.
FCA’s move, reports say, is the first in a series of crackdowns on crypto activity amid fears of digital assets being used by criminals for money laundering.
The news comes only days after Scotland Yard detectives seized some £114 million of cryptocurrencies that were being held by an international crime gang.
The FCA has however, not connected the laundering with Binance, but it would appear a widespread clampdown is on the cards in the light of the Metropolitan Police investigation which has now led to one of the most eyebrow-raising interventions in the history of cryptocurrency.
Over the weekend, the FCA also delivered warnings against Binance Holdings as well as London-based Binance Markets Limited.
FCA said: “Binance Markets Limited is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK. This firm is part of a wider Group (Binance Group).
“Due to the imposition of requirements by the FCA, Binance Markets Limited is not currently permitted to undertake any regulated activities without the prior written consent of the FCA.
“No other entity in the Binance Group holds any form of UK authorisation, registration or licence to conduct regulated activity in the UK.
“The Binance Group appears to be offering UK customers a range of products and services via a website, Binance.com.”
In a further act of ignominy, the FCA has threatened to take further measures against Binance if it fails to display a notice on the Binance Markets website to say “Binance Markets is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK.”
Binance, headed by CEO Changpeng Zhao, has been given until Wednesday evening to comply with the FCA’s instructions.
As well as demanding a halt to any financial promotions or advertising, Binance Markets has also been ordered to “secure and preserve all records and/or information relating to all UK consumers from its systems.”
THEWILL gathered that Binance Markets had applied to be registered with the FCA as required standard for any UK financial entity offering digital assets and exchange service, last month. But it recently withdrew its application after meeting uncompromising resistance from the regulator.
Curiously, Binance Markets had been given the green light by the FCA when it was established in London last year after purchasing an existing company that was already registered.
The Financial Conduct Authority published a consumer warning against both the Cayman Islands-registered Binance holdings company and Binance Markets Limited, a London-based affiliate controlled by Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao and overseen by the UK regulator.
The FCA Binance warning comes as regulators globally try to act on concerns that the crypto industry is being used for illicit activities such as money laundering.
The latest blow to one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges follows Friday’s Binance warning by Japan’s FSA. The warning issued by the Japanese regulator said that Binance has been providing crypto exchange services in the country without registering with the FSA.
This was the second warning by the Japanese financial market regulator. The crypto exchange giant received its first FSA warning in March 2018 when the regulator warned that the exchange would face criminal charges if it continues to operate without a license
In April, Germany’s financial watchdog warned investors that Binance had likely violated securities rules over its launch of trading in stock tokens.
