Binance suspends sterling deposits and withdrawals
Crypto trading platform Binance has suspended sterling deposits and withdrawals via card and faster payments.
Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, has announced it’s stopping deposits and withdrawals in pounds sterling (GBP). This has already come into effect for new users. Existing customers have until 22 May, 2023, before the service disappears.
The exchange has been forced into this move after its partner for sterling transfers, Paysafe, stopped offering fiat services, meaning it no longer supports transfers in GBP.
Who will it affect?
The change will mean that anyone who uses Binance won’t be able to make GBP deposits or withdrawals using their debit card or via faster payments. According to Binance, this should affect less than 1% of its customers.
Those who are affected will still be able to access their GBP balances. However, with withdrawals suspended, options for using their balance are likely to be limited.
Binance says it is working to find an “alternative solution”.
Problems for Binance
This is not the first time Binance has struggled to access traditional currencies, which, for a global exchange that wants to operate in key markets, is not a great place to be in.
In February 2023, it suspended all US dollar bank transfers for international customers. The US Justice Department is investigating the firm over suspected money laundering and sanction violations. The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into its BUSD stablecoin.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ordered Binance to stop all UK regulated activities in June 2021; Binance is not on the FCA’s cryptoasset register and the regulator flagged a concern in February 2022 about its deal with Paysafe. The register shows firms which have met FCA rules for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing. Crypto businesses must be on the register to operate in the UK.
Skrill, the Paysafe unit that worked with Binance, said of the situation that “the UK regulatory environment in relation to crypto is too challenging to offer this service at this time”.
*Cryptocurrencies aren't regulated in the UK and there's no protection from the Financial Ombudsman or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Your capital is at risk. Capital gains tax on profits may apply.
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