Britain Bans Cryptocurrency Trading Platform Binance

The British financial regulator has ordered Binance, a cryptocurrency trading platform that ranks among the largest in the world, to cease all regulated activities, joining strict measures in Japan and Germany.

Binance Markets, the UK branch of Binance, "must not conduct any regulated activities without written permission from the FCA… and the decision takes effect immediately," the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced on Sunday.

Binance did not respond yesterday to a request for comment on this announcement.

Cryptocurrency trading in the UK is not directly regulated, but platforms must obtain licenses for services such as cryptocurrency derivatives trading.

The FCA has ordered Binance to publish a notice on its website and social media channels by June 30 stating that "Binance Markets is not permitted to conduct regulated activities in the UK."

The platform must also maintain complete records relating to consumers from the UK and notify the FCA by July 2 that it has complied with this order.

The regulator did not explain why it took action against Binance, which previously stated that it takes its legal obligations "very seriously" and is cooperating "with regulators and law enforcement agencies."

The FCA has intensified oversight of cryptocurrency trading, which has become immensely popular both in the UK and globally.

Since January, the British regulator has required all companies offering cryptocurrency-related services to register and prove compliance with anti-money laundering laws.

At the beginning of June, they announced that only five companies had registered and that most had not yet complied with their requirements.

The Japanese regulator announced on June 25 that Binance is operating illegally in Japan, according to a notice published on the website of the Japanese Financial Services Agency.

Bloomberg reported in May that officials from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service investigating money laundering and tax violations were gathering information from individuals with insight into Binance’s operations, Reuters reports.

In April, the German financial regulator BaFin warned Binance that it faces a monetary penalty for offering cryptocurrencies to investors without a proper prospectus.