Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has unveiled plans to become a “fully licensed and fully compliant” exchange in order to serve users in the UK. the country’s regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Binance plans to launch fully licensed crypto exchange in UK
Binance is working to become a fully licensed and fully compliant cryptocurrency exchange in order to get started in the UK, where it recently encountered issues with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Exchange CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said in an interview with The Telegraph that Binance will apply for a new license from the FCA. He believes his exchange’s relationship with the UK regulator has improved. He told the newspaper:
We are fully re-committed to it… We are making a number of very important changes in organizational structures, product offerings, our internal processes and the way we work with regulators.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority issued a warning to consumers on Binance in June, stating that no entity “within the Binance group holds any form of authorization, registration or license in the UK to conduct regulated activity in the UK. UK”. In August, the FCA said Binance was no longer in violation of its rules, but noted that the company had not applied for a license to operate a crypto exchange.
“We want to continue to establish a presence in the UK and serve UK users in a fully licensed and fully compliant manner,” Zhao stressed, adding that Binance hopes to become a registered crypto asset company in six to 18 months. .
Following the FCA warning, several major UK banks have started restricting payments to Binance, including Barclays, HSBC, Natwest and Santander.
Besides the FCA, a number of other regulators have issued warnings of all kinds regarding Binance, including regulators in the United States, South Africa, Singapore, Australia, Norway, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, India, Malaysia and Lithuania. In August, Binance said it was making regulatory compliance its top priority.
Zhao further shared with the post that when regulators asked Binance “a very simple question: ‘Where is your head office? and our response was that we don’t have a headquarters, that we are a decentralized organization, they didn’t know how to work with us. The CEO concluded:
We understand this now. So now we are in the process of setting up real offices, legal entities, proper board of directors, proper governance structures in most places including UK.
What do you think of Binance’s UK launch after regulatory issues with the FCA? Let us know in the comments section below.
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