Warnings issued against Cayman-registered Binance as UK bans largest crypto exchange

(CMR) Britain's Financial Conduct Authority has banned Binance, one of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, from operating in the UK. The financial regulator reportedly issued a consumer warning against both the Cayman Islands-registered Binance Holdings Company and Binance Markets Limited, a London-based affiliate.

In a statement on Saturday, the Financial Conduct Authority said that Binance Markets Limited “is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK.”

“No other entity in the Binance Group holds any form of UK authorization, registration, or license to conduct regulated activity in the UK,” the regulator added.

The FCA has ordered Binance to display by next Wednesday on its website that “BINANCE MARKETS LIMITED IS NOT PERMITTED TO UNDERTAKE ANY REGULATED ACTIVITY IN THE UK.”

Although the FCA has restricted Binance from offering services in the UK, citizens can still access Binance’s services in other jurisdictions, the Financial Times reported.

UK's ban on Binance was one expected as the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volumes, which was set to launch its own digital asset marketplace in Britain, withdrew its applications after failing to meet anti-money laundering requirements.

The UK ban follows news that Japanese regulators sent warnings to Binance that they may be operating in the country without proper authorization. Regulators in Ontario, Canada, have also put a stop to the company's operation there as of December 31.

China has also said it will not tolerate crypto trading. The crypto sector has seen major setbacks in recent months, with a major fall in value due to regulations in several countries. Last week Bitcoin fell below $30,000 for the first time since January. However, it gained more than 5% over the past 24 hours to trade at $34,800 on Monday.

According to the Financial Times, Binance is one of the most important operators in the fast-emerging crypto market, offering a wide range of services to customers around the world, including trading in dozens of digital coins, futures, options, stock tokens, as well as savings accounts and lending. It recorded crypto trading volumes equivalent to $1.5tn last month, according to data from TheBlockCrypto.