UK's Financial Conduct Authority orders Binance to stop all regulated activities in Britain by June 30 and issues consumer alert against the company

FCA also issues consumer alert against sprawling cryptocurrency group — The UK's financial watchdog has ordered Binance to stop …

Financial Times 2021-06-28

Context & Ripple Effects

The FCA’s action against Binance became an early test of how UK authorities would treat crypto groups operating without authorization. It was followed quickly by Barclays restricting UK transfers to Binance and, later, by the FCA saying it could not adequately oversee Binance because key questions had gone unanswered.

The episode also foreshadowed a broader enforcement posture: the FCA subsequently warned on FTX and tightened the channels through which crypto firms could reach UK customers, contributing to Binance’s halt to new UK user signups.

First-order effects

Binance must stop its regulated UK activities by the FCA’s June 30 deadline, while the consumer alert puts UK customers on notice that the group is not authorized by the regulator.
The FCA establishes an immediate compliance boundary for Binance’s UK-facing business rather than treating its international scale as a substitute for local authorization.

Second-order effects

UK financial intermediaries face pressure to reassess links to Binance; Barclays’ subsequent transfer restriction shows how a regulatory warning can translate into reduced access to payment rails.
Other crypto exchanges serving Britain face a clearer incentive to demonstrate authorization and responsiveness to FCA inquiries, especially after the regulator applied a similar warning to FTX.

Third-order effects

The UK market is moving toward a model in which access to customers depends not only on an exchange’s product offering but also on its ability to satisfy domestic supervision and communications rules.
As the FCA expands enforcement around crypto promotions and authorization, global exchanges may need local compliance structures or accept narrower UK distribution.

The trend: Crypto platforms’ ability to serve national markets is increasingly being determined by local regulators and financial intermediaries rather than by their global reach.

Discussion

@binance @binance on x
We are aware of recent reports about an FCA UK notice in relation to Binance Markets Limited (BML). BML is a separate legal entity and does not offer any products or services via the https://binance.com/ website. (1/4)
@binance @binance on x
The FCA UK notice has no direct impact on the services provided on https://binance.com/. Our relationship with our users has not changed. (3/4)
@henriarslanian Henri Arslanian on x
The UK regulator @TheFCA issues consumer warning on @binance These are the important passages (Thread 1 of 3): “No entity in the Binance Group holds any form of UK authorisation, registration or licence to conduct regulated activity in the UK. https://www.fca.org.uk/...
@financepapi__ Financepapi on x
Correct me if I'm wrong, but my interpretation of this is that it just applies to derivatives, futures etc. Nothing to do with buying and selling spot And Binance, like many other trading platforms, aren't headquartered in the UK and don't follow UK regulation anyways https://twi…
@cryptoseq Seq on x
2/ “Due to the imposition of requirements by the FCA, Binance Markets Limited is not currently permitted to undertake any REGULATED activities without the prior written consent of the FCA” https://www.fca.org.uk/...
@gilliantett Gillian Tett on x
Another sign that the “tower” is moving against the “square”? https://www.ft.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@frances_coppola @frances_coppola on x
Here's the enforcement action to accompany the consumer warning. https://twitter.com/...
@themightywej @themightywej on x
@BTC_Archive @binance Link to statement from Binance below. Binance do NOT advise closing positions immediately, and advise to close them before the 31st December 2021. Please do better @BTC_Archive, I like and appreciate your content but that was misinformation at best. https://…
@carrascosacris_ @carrascosacris_ on x
Number of crypto startups coming to Spain from UK is quite interesting too. Never thought Brexit would turn out this way. https://twitter.com/...
@glengoodman Glen Goodman on x
UK people - this is just a reminder from the FCA that Binance is not allowed to promote LEVERAGED (regulated) crypto trading in the UK. They can still promote ordinary crypto buying/selling through their exchange, because the FCA does not regulate that. https://www.fca.org.uk/...
@vijayshekhar Vijay Shekhar Sharma on x
Read it for comments .. https://www.ft.com/...
@cryptobaddiee @cryptobaddiee on x
#Binance has announced that Ontario, Canada has become a restricted jurisdiction. Effective immediately on 2021-06-26 and customers are advised to close out all positions By December 31,2021. https://www.binance.com/...
@jamessurowiecki James Surowiecki on x
This is just another sign of how crypto is winning. https://twitter.com/...
@smtuffy Sean Tuffy on x
On a long enough time line, the survival rate for any financial firm trying operate outside of FinReg drops to zero. https://twitter.com/...
@adamsamson Adam Samson on x
The UK financial regulator has ordered Binance to cease regulated activities and imposed a series of stringent requirements in a rebuke of one of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges. Here's a 🧵. For more, read the @FT story: https://www.ft.com/... (1/x)
@bannerview @bannerview on x
First it was Ontario Canada banning @binance, now it's the UK! Financial watchdog bans crypto exchange Binance from UK https://www.ft.com/... The noose is tightening. Makes it harder for $BTC number go up.
@nouriel Nouriel Roubini on x
Financial watchdog bans crypto exchange Binance from UK FCA also issues consumer alert against sprawling cryptocurrency group https://www.ft.com/... via @financialtimes
@alexisgoldstein Alexis Goldstein on x
“Binance Markets Limited is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK” https://www.fca.org.uk/... https://twitter.com/...

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