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Binance, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has made moves to look for regulation in the United Kingdom. The move comes at the same time as the United States authorities are tightening cryptocurrency transactions.
Binance’s chief strategy officer, Patrick Hillmann, noted during the Financial Times’ Crypto and Digital Assets Summit that the United States regulation recently has been challenging for the industry. In the last six months, actions taken against cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has brought confusion to the space, where it’s difficult to know what is lawful and against legislation. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cracked down on Coinbase for alleged securities law violations, putting the industry in a “strange place” with regulation where there is little clarity.
In order to navigate the United States landscape, Hillmann stated that the exchange is looking to do whatever is possible to be regulated in the United Kingdom. While Binance has historically had a time time working with United Kingdom authorities, the exchange will look to align its operations in favour of regulations. This would require working against previous failure to provide information about its business conduct and activity.
This is not the first time Binance has gone toe-to-toe with regulators. Earlier this year, the exchange faced backlash from United States regulators for alleged illicit activity. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) slapped Binance with a lawsuit in March over allegations that it was operating illegally. According to the CFTC lawsuit, Binance was in legal violation by soliciting United States customers.
Binance and global operations
Despite the past, a Binance representative has acknowledged intent to adhere to regulation pertinent to anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorism financing protocols in the UK. They also noted that the exchange has a compliance process which undertakes AML protocols and instruments to enable the company to detect and halt suspicious activity. The team has said that this will help Binance to secure approvals and register in various regions. The compliance program in place stand to put the exchange in good stead in New Zealand, Dubai and European countries including France, Italy, and Spain.