The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the United Kingdom has stated that Binance Group, which operates the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is restricted from conducting any business in the country without its permission.
The intervention is an example of how regulators are pushing down on the cryptocurrency business due to concerns about its possible role in illegal activities like money laundering and fraud and the industry’s often inadequate consumer protection.
According to Coin market cap, Binance is the world’s largest exchange for both spot and futures cryptocurrency trading, with 372 coins listed on its platform. The exchange had transacted more than $13.8 billion in the preceding 24 hours, compared to $3.6 billion on China’s Huobi Global, the second-largest exchange.
The regulator, however, stated that the Binance Group, offering a wide range of products and services to UK customers via a website, is not permitted to engage in any regulated activity and no other entity in the Binance Group is authorized, registered, or licensed to conduct any marketing in the UK.
The FCA also issued a warning alert to the consumers last week, targeting both the Cayman Islands-registered Binance holdings firm and Binance Markets Limited, a London-based affiliate managed by CEO Changpeng Zhao and controlled by the UK regulator.
“The FCA UK notification has no bearing on the services offered by Binance.com. Our relationship with our users has not affected. When it comes to engaging with regulators, we take a collaborative approach and take our compliance commitments very seriously. In this new space, we are actively keeping track of evolving policies, rules, and laws,” Binance said on Twitter.
