Binance halts onboarding of new UK users

Crypto exchange Binance will stop accepting users in the United Kingdom as of 5 p.m. local time on Oct. 16.

According to Binance’s announcement, the move came after the country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) imposed legally binding requirements on its partner Rebuildingsociety.com Ltd (REBS) on Oct. 10. Among other items, the ruling prohibited REBS from ad promotions soliciting Binance goods and services. The exchange wrote:

“Binance is currently looking for a new FCA authorised approver. However, there will be some temporary restrictions coming into effect on our Platform (i.e. www.binance.com/en-GB and latest version of our Mobile App) during the period until Binance onboards with a new FCA authorised approver and has its financial promotions reapproved.”

Existing Binance users in the U.K. will retain their services. However, the exchange clarified that “any new products and services will not be made available during this interim period.” Various products such as gift cards, Binance Academy, Binance Research, Binance Feed, and Referral Bonus available on the Binance international platform are currently unavailable on its U.K. platform.

Cointelegraph previously reported that the FCA began enforcing a series of new crypto marketing rules requiring exchanges to “market to U.K. consumers clearly, fairly and honestly, and must also provide risk warnings people understand.” The ruling, at the time, also allowed FCA-registered entities to market products and services on behalf of overseas firms not registered with the FCA. Binance planned to use REBS to allow its U.K. users to view the exchange’s products and services through a localized domain, as the exchange is not registered with the FCA.

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