Binance cancels its UK registration as exit from Europe continues

As a result, the company will no longer be able to offer regulated activities and products, a statement issued by the regulatory body confirmed. Binance's UK arm voluntarily requested deregistration and the process was completed on May 30, 2023 and is now reflected in the FCA registry.

The FCA said: “Following the completion of the license revocation, the company is no longer authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). No other entity in the Binance Group holds any form of license or registration in the UK to conduct regulated activities in the UK.” .

“Given that these permits are unlikely to be required in the future, Binance Markets Limited has decided that it would be prudent to suspend them in accordance with the FCA’s recommendations to update them,” a Binance spokesperson said.

Binance's relationship with the UK regulator has had a turbulent past. Since 2021, the government body has issued several statements warning UK residents against engaging in trading activities on the Binance platform.

At the time, Binance was unable to meet the anti-money laundering requirements set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This was made clear in a letter from the regulator to Binance Markets Limited, the group’s UK arm, which noted that the company “refused” to answer basic questions including those related to money laundering, organizational structure, and even the legal entity responsible for offering its products.

Binance has also been required by 2021 to add a prominent notice on its website and apps informing Britons that it is not authorized to provide any services to them.

The latest development comes almost a week after Binance filed to withdraw its operations from Cyprus. The company is currently undergoing a deregistration review process pending the upcoming Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation from the European Union.

By proactively seeking this repeal, Binance claims it wants to focus on meeting the requirements of upcoming regulations.

The cryptocurrency giant also announced that it will be leaving the Netherlands after its application for registration under the Dutch cryptocurrency licensing system was rejected. Due to the inability to obtain registration as a Virtual Asset Provider (VASP) with the Dutch regulator, Binance said on Friday that it will no longer be able to serve clients from the country.