By Adedapo Adesanya
A crypto-exchange, Binance, has been ordered to stop all regulated activities in Britain by the United Kingdom’s financial watchdog, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
In a statement, it was stated that the exchange would not be allowed to undertake any regulated activities without the prior written consent of the FCA as it does not have authorisation.
“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 a regulated activity in the UK,” the statement reads.
This is coming at a time when the cryptocurrencies market is coming across intense scrutiny and the exchange itself is facing pressures from regulators in other countries, including the United States and Germany.
As part of the FCA’s actions, the regulator ordered Binance to display by next Wednesday on its website that, “BINANCE MARKETS LIMITED IS NOT PERMITTED TO UNDERTAKE ANY REGULATED ACTIVITY IN THE UK.”
The FCA further warned the UK investing public to be wary of adverts online and on social media promising high returns on investments in crypto assets or crypto asset-related products.
Binance is one of the most important operators in the fast-emerging crypto market, offering a wide range of services to customers around the world, including trading in dozens of digital coins, futures, options, stock tokens, as well as savings accounts and lending. It recorded crypto trading volumes equivalent to $1.5 trillion last month, according to data.
