Binance UK will stop accepting new users as of today (Monday, October 16, 2023). The announcement follows the denial of approval for a third party to provide marketing services to the UK iteration of the world’s largest crypto exchange.
This month, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) began enforcing new promotional rules for crypto offerings. Binance sought to comply with these rules by working with Rebuildingsociety – a crowdfunding platform that is in the peer-to-peer lending sector. Rebuildingsociety thought that due to its already regulated status, they could create a service that would adhere to the new rules while launching a new line of business.
As was reported this past week, the FCA denied Rebuildingsociety’s application, compelling Binance UK to hit the brakes on new customers accessing its platform in the UK.
Reuters reported that Binance UK was looking for another partner firm to continue services, but working with another provider may not be the answer for the crypto exchange.
In the US, the SEC has launched an enforcement action against Binance, and chatter about a potential criminal lawsuit from the US Department of Justice continues to reverberate. If US regulators take a dim view of Binance, other jurisdictions may hesitate to work with the platform.
