Binance coin (BNB) stands among the best performers today. This follows the UK’s financial regulator update that crypto exchange Binance has complied with “all aspects of the requirements” put forward by the regulator, possibly paving the way for the exchange’s potential future comeback to the regulated market in the UK.
(Updated at 11:25 UTC with replies from Binance and the FCA: Updates in bold.)
At 9:07 UTC Thursday morning, the fourth coin by market capitalization, BNB, is up 2.3% in a day in a largely red crypto market, now trading at nearly USD 484. It is also the best performer today in the top 20 coins.
Additionally, it is up 20.7% in a week, 60% in a month and 2,156 in a year. The weekly rise puts it at the second-best place among the top 20, right behind cardano (ADA).
Last June, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned Binance from undertaking any regulated activity in the UK, stating the business could not be effectively supervised.
However, in an update on Wednesday, the regulator shortly stated:
“On 25 June 2021, the FCA imposed requirements on Binance Markets Limited. The firm complied with all aspects of the requirements,” and then added: “These requirements remain in place and BML are still unable to conduct regulated business in the UK.”
The FCA’s Financial Services Register includes the exchange, but, as of August 26, it confirms the “firm has requirements or restrictions placed on the financial services activities that it can operate.”
Asked if the FCA was currently evaluating whether to accept Binance as a regulated market player in the UK, a spokesperson for the regulator told Cryptonews.com that the FCA was “unable to comment on individual firms beyond what we have published in the Notice.”
From the regulator’s point of view, Binance’s compliance with the regulations itself was not changing the requirements that the regulator has imposed on the exchange, they said.
“Please see the First Supervisory Notice [from June 25] and the line in it: ’These Requirements will remain in force unless and until varied or cancelled by the FCA (either on the application of the Firm or of the FCA’s own volition)’,” according to the FCA’s spokesperson.
This follows the FCA’s decision from 25 June, which sheds some light on why the regulator decided to ban Binance from operating in the country’s regulated market. The authority said it considered Binance was “failing to satisfy the effective supervision Threshold Condition,” as well as refused to provide the FCA with adequate responses to some of the questions the regulator asked it in the course of 2021.
In particular, Binance is accused of refusing to answer questions about its wider global business model, including trading names and functions for all of the group’s entities across the world.
In one instance, the FCA also accused Binance of failing to provide it with information about wider products offered through Binance.com, and identify all the legal entities with which UK customers could enter relationships with when they use the crypto exchange’s services.
Binance replied that its website was operated from outside the UK, and as such, it was not covered by the territorial scope of the country’s Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds regulations from 2017.
The regulator also accused Binance of dodging questions about Binance Stock Tokens by failing to provide the authority with clarified information on the legal or regulatory status of its product, among others.
In conclusion, the regulator decided the company had failed to carry on a regulated activity for a period of more than 12 months, and it was failing or likely to fail to satisfy the FCA’s effective supervision Threshold Conditions.
Asked about the latest decision by the UK regulator, a spokesperson for Binance told Cryptonews.com that Binance Markets Limited does not operate or offer any products on Binance.com.
“As noted by the FCA, Binance Markets Limited has fully complied with all aspects of its requirements. We continue to engage with the FCA to resolve any outstanding issues that may exist. As the cryptocurrency ecosystem industry continues to grow and evolve we are committed to working with regulators and policymakers to develop policies that protect consumers, encourage innovation, and move our industry forward,” the spokesperson said.
Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, shared the latest development with the exchange’s community, triggering predominantly positive reactions to the news.
“You knew regulations would kick in asap so you started hiring ex regulators in the past few months.,” tweeted a user who goes by the name of Puneet Mendiratta, praising the company’s recent efforts to hire a number of former regulators. Just earlier this month, Binance said they had appointed a former American Treasury official as the new anti-money laundering (AML) enforce.
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Source: Cryptonews
