The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a warning to Binance Markets Limited (BML) stating it must stop all regulated activities in the UK. The regulator has also requested that Binance complies with a string of requirements, including ending all advertisements. It has until Wednesday 30th June to confirm it has done so.
Binance Markets Limited is a subsidiary of Binance.com and is based in London. However, due to the way cryptocurrencies are governed, the ruling has little to no impact on UK-based crypto traders. British citizens can still trade the tokens through Binance.com, which is located in the Cayman Islands.
While the FCA does not regulate cryptocurrencies, all UK-based exchanges offering digital assets must be approved by the FCA under their cryptocurrency registration regime. Binance Markets Limited is not part of the scheme and neither is Binance Group or any entity within it, the FCA has stressed. Until the recent warning, BML did have permission from the FCA to offer traditional financial services, such as lending and savings accounts. It achieved this by purchasing a firm that was already authorised to provide these.
The move serves as a warning to cryptocurrency exchanges that are operating without authorisation from a global regulator. But, it is not the first that Binance has received.