Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced that it will stop accepting new users from the United Kingdom as of Monday, October 16, 2023.
This decision was made in response to new rules imposed by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on the firm's local partner, Rebuildingsociety.com Ltd (REBS).
The UK Financial Promotions Regulations for qualifying crypto assets came into force on 8 October 2023. These new rules allow unregulated offshore companies such as Binance to promote their crypto asset businesses in the UK by engaging a firm authorized by the FCA.
Binance engaged REBS to review and approve its financial advertising in the UK in accordance with these new rules.
However, on 10 October the FCA imposed legally binding requirements on REBS, meaning REBS could no longer approve financial advertising. As a result, as of 17:00 on October 11, 2023, REBS was forced to withdraw all existing financial promotion approvals on behalf of any crypto asset business, including Binance.
Binance will stop accepting new UK users from 17:00 UK time on Monday, October 16, 2023. Existing UK users will continue to benefit from existing services, but no new products and services will be introduced during this interim period.
Binance is currently seeking a new authorized validator authorized by the FCA and is working closely with the FCA to ensure its users are not harmed by these developments.
*This is not investment advice.