“Binance Markets Limited has recently submitted a cancellation request of their FCA permissions which was completed on 30 May 2023,” an update from the FCA stated. “Following the completion of the cancellation of permissions, the firm is no longer authorized by the FCA. No other entity in the Binance Group holds any form of UK authorization or registration to conduct regulated business in the UK.”
The UK regulator flagged the local subsidiary of Binance in mid-2021, which triggered an array of similar warnings by several other financial market watchdogs globally. The FCA initially imposed restrictions on Binance Markets Limited, prohibiting the firm from conducting any regulated activity in the country.
Binance’s Sub-Regional Manager for Growth in the UK and Europe, Ilir Laro, pointed out that the cancellation of Binance Markets Limited’s registration did not have an operational impact as it never conducted any business.
“BML was successfully acquired back in 2020 by Binance Group, intended to launch a regulated business in the UK. This attempt was not successful, however, and has since then remained dormant since its acquisition,” Laro noted.
“To clarify, BML has never conducted any type of regulated business in the UK. In keeping with the FCA’s firms guidance on canceling unused FCA permissions, BML is now no longer authorized by the FCA.”
Earlier, a Binance executive revealed the exchange’s plans to move towards the UK following the regulatory backlash in the US. The UK unit of the exchange is now focusing on the newly amended Financial Promotions Order, which is a mandatory rule to operate in the country. This comes into effect on October 8, 2023.
Meanwhile, Binance is facing two civil lawsuits in the US, one brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the other by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Following Binance’s troubles with the two top US regulators, the exchange is also reducing its European presence. It has deregistered its regulated subsidiary in Cyprus and decided to exit the Netherlands as it failed to obtain a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license from the Dutch regulators. The regulated French subsidiary of Binance is also reportedly facing a probe.
Reporter