The U.K. financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has announced that cryptocurrency exchange Binance has complied with the requirements it imposed on the company in June. The FCA further clarified that while Binance is allowed to provide some investment services, it is not authorized to provide services related to crypto assets in the U.K.
Binance Has Complied With FCA’s Requirements Imposed in June
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced Wednesday that Binance has complied with the requirements it imposed in June on Binance Markets Ltd. and other companies in the Binance Group operating in the U.K. The FCA wrote:
On 25 June 2021, the FCA imposed requirements on Binance Markets Limited. The firm complied with all aspects of the requirements.
The regulator issued a consumer warning about Binance in June stating that the company “is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the U.K.”
The British regulator also noted at the time that “Based upon the firm’s engagement to date, the FCA considers that the firm is not capable of being effectively supervised. This is of particular concern in the context of the firm’s membership of a global Group which offers complex and high-risk financial products, which pose a significant risk to consumers.”
Binance was required to display an FCA notice on its websites and media channels to that effect. The firm was also ordered to remove any advertising and financial promotions by close of business on June 30, and provide written confirmation to the FCA. In addition, Binance must “secure and preserve” all records relating to all U.K. customers and retained at a location in the U.K. These records must be available to the FCA promptly at its request.
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The FCA further explained that Binance has been an authorized investment firm since April 2018 under the name Eddieuk. The firm was acquired by Binance Capital Management Ltd. in May 2020, and its name was legally changed to Binance Markets Ltd. in June 2020. It also registered a trading name of Binance UK.
According to the FCA, the firm is permitted to carry out some investment activities including providing investment advice, arrange investment deals, safeguard and administer investments, and hold client money.
The regulator noted that Binance “signed an undertaking that it would not offer any cryptoasset activities unless and until either it was registered or the authority informed the firm that it could avail itself of the transitional provisions in the MLRs [Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017].”
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