Binance to Stop Accepting New U.K. Users to Comply With Ad Rules

Binance will stop accepting new U.K. users starting Monday in order to comply with the country’s crypto marketing rules, the company said in a blog post.

Under the new regime – which kicked in on Oct.8 – firms that are registered with the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) can approve their own ads. Failing that, companies can enlist authorized entities to approve ads for them.

While Binance partnered with a firm called Rebuildingsociety.com ahead of the rules coming into effect to have its promos and ads approved in the U.K., the FCA said last week that the latter was not authorized to greenlight crypto ads.

“We are working closely with the FCA to ensure that our users are not harmed by these developments and are looking to find another suitable FCA authorized firm to approve our financial promotions as soon as possible,” the exchange said.

Existing U.K. users will still have access to services if they have completed the “Investor Declaration and Appropriateness Test” but will not be allowed to access any new products and services during this period, the company said.

UPDATE (Oct. 16, 15:28 UTC): Adds detail about existing U.K. customers in last paragraph.