In a series of moves following global regulatory pressures, Binance, the well-known cryptocurrency trading platform, continues to withdraw from its main markets. The latest announcement concerns the withdrawal of its UK-based subsidiary.
Binance is turning its back on the UK, marking yet another milestone in its tumultuous relationship with global regulators. While the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has already brought charges against the platform, Binance continues to withdraw from its key markets in the face of increasingly stringent oversight.
Binance subsidiary Binance Markets Limited (BML) recently decided to leave the UK market, according to a recent report. The company has officially cancelled its registration with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the country’s principal regulator.
Binance has already encountered regulatory problems in the UK?
This decision is significant, as following this cancellation, no entity affiliated to Binance will be authorized by the FCA to provide services in the UK. The FCA made this clear in an update published on its website on June 7.
The FCA stated that the application to cancel BML’s authorizations was accepted by the regulator on May 30, 2023.
Binance executives responded to the news with clarifications. A Binance regional manager said that the cancellation of BML’s registration had no impact on the company’s ordinary activities, as this subsidiary had never carried out any regulated activity in the UK.
According to Ilir Laro, Binance’s sub-regional director responsible for the company’s growth in the UK and Europe, BML has never carried out any regulated activity in the country. He added that BML had been successfully acquired by Binance Group in 2020.
The aim of the BML acquisition was to launch a regulated business in the UK. However, Binance’s attempts to establish a presence in the country have not been successful and BML has remained inactive since its acquisition.
Ilir Laro pointed out on Twitter that Binance still has five regulated entities in Europe, including France, Italy, Spain, Poland and Sweden. According to him, the company and its subsidiaries are preparing for the entry into force of the new MiCA law scheduled for 2024 or 2025.
However, despite Ilir Laro’s statements, Binance has already encountered regulatory problems in the UK. In 2021, the FCA ordered Binance to cease all regulated activity in the country.
Binance’s withdrawal from the UK market also comes shortly after Patrick Hillmann, the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, expressed the company’s willingness to obtain permission to operate in the UK, given the difficulties it faces in the US.
