In a recent development, cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has decided to cease its operations in Canada. The exchange stated via a Tweet on Friday that it was compelled to exit the country due to Canada’s regulations surrounding stablecoins and investor restrictions.
Binance tweeted:
Unfortunately, today we are announcing that Binance will be joining other prominent crypto businesses in proactively withdrawing from the Canadian marketplace.
The exchange added:
Unfortunately, new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges makes the Canada market no longer tenable for Binance at this time. We put off this decision as long as we could to explore other reasonable avenues to protect our Canadian users, but it has become apparent that there are none.
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) issued a notice categorizing stablecoins as ‘securities and/or derivatives’ in December last year. This classification has imposed restrictions on regulated crypto exchanges in Canada, preventing them from providing services involving stablecoins, which constitute a significant portion of the industry.
Additionally, Canada, particularly the regulatory authority in Ontario, the regulatory body has enforced a requirement for all cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the country to undergo registration.
Binance has recently encountered regulatory challenges in the United States as well. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has taken legal action against both the exchange and its CEO for breaching a variety of local regulations.
In light of these circumstances, Binance’s Chief Strategy Officer, Patrick Hillmann, recently disclosed that the exchange is contemplating seeking regulatory approval in the United Kingdom. Binance had previously withdrawn its application for registration with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) due to a conflict with UK regulators.
