UK FCA orders Binance to halt services by June 30, retain user records; Binance claims unaffected

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK has ordered Binance not to provide any regulated services in the UK, but Binance has stated that this will not affect its operations. In addition, the former operator of OKCoin has announced its dissolution, with the person in charge being Xu Mingxing, the founder of OKEx.

Suspension of Regulated Activities

Not long after being warned by the Japanese Financial Services Agency for operating without a license, Binance's operations in the UK may face repercussions once again. According to a notice released by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 6/26, they have demanded that Binance cease its operations in the UK by 6/30 and instructed Binance to post notifications on its official website and social media platforms.

The notice stated:

None of the entities under the Binance Group are authorized, registered, or licensed in the UK, yet they appear to be offering various products and services to UK users through Binance.com. While the FCA does not regulate Bitcoin, Ethereum, certain derivatives such as contracts, options, and crypto assets falling within the scope of securities are within the FCA's jurisdiction.

Prior to this, the FCA had announced the ban on trading platforms offering cryptocurrency derivatives such as futures, options, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), which took effect on 1/6 this year.

The FCA stated that Binance must suspend services, retain all relevant records of UK users by 6/30, and notify the FCA in writing by 7/2.

Binance has stated that they are not affected by this, and the Binance Markets Limited (BML) mentioned by the FCA is an independent entity that does not offer any products or services through Binance.com.

Binance's Presence in the UK

In 2020, Binance acquired the FCA-registered company EddieUK and announced the establishment of the UK entity Binance Markets Limited in June of the same year. In August, it joined the UK self-regulatory trade association CryptoUK as an executive member.

However, as of now, although the registration deadline for exchanges has been extended several times to 3/31/2022, the FCA has only approved five cryptocurrency firms, including Gemini, Archax, Ziglu, Digivault, Diginex, and Mode Global Holdings.

Furthermore, it is unclear whether the recent series of cryptocurrency bans in China are related. The former operating company of OKCoin has announced its dissolution, with the liquidation group led by Xu Mingxing, founder of OKEx. However, according to official tweets, it seems that they have not been affected.

The announcement stated, "On June 24, 2021, Beijing Lekudawang Network Technology Co., Ltd. decided to dissolve and apply for deregistration with the company registration authority. Creditors are requested to declare their claims to the liquidation group within 45 days from the date of this announcement." The announcement period is from June 24, 2021, to August 8, 2021, with Xu Mingxing as the contact person for creditor claims.