FCA Bans Binance, Perhaps in Vain

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – a financial regulatory body that operates independently from the UK Government – has ordered Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, to stop any regulated activity in the UK.

According to the FCA’s official notice published on June 26, “no other entity in the Binance Group holds any form of UK authorization, registration or license to conduct regulated activity in the UK.” However, Binance isn’t based in the UK, and UK citizens are still allowed to continue using it despite the ban.

The notice focuses mainly on Binance Markets Limited, a firm owned by Binance Group and registered in London. But, as the company pointed out in a recent tweet, it doesn’t provide any services or products on the Binance website.

The FCA’s announcement is just the latest on the list of the anti-crypto measures that countries all around the globe have been preparing. For instance, not long ago, China’s central bank forbade all major financial institutions from facilitating any kinds of crypto-related transactions.

Certain countries, such as Algeria, Bolivia, Morocco, and Nepal, have taken an even stronger stance against cryptocurrencies and completely prohibited all activities related to them.

Since cryptocurrencies can’t be controlled on an institutional level, governments and their financial establishments fear that criminals will use them to engage in illegal activities like money laundering or tax evasion.

Many, including legal and financial experts, as well as some companies – particularly those that own Bitcoin options trading platforms or similar businesses – oppose measures of this severity. JP Schnapper-Casteras, a nonresident senior fellow with the GeoEconomics Center, called attention to the fact that no plan has been devised for the colossal number of people who own digital assets. That is to say, there is no set course of action for remedying their financial losses if cryptos get banned entirely.