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Crypto exchange Binance revealed plans of putting up a U.K. unit just months after the Financial Conduct Authority warned the company that it could not undertake any regulated activities in the country. Binance Chief Executive Officer Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said that his company will apply for an FCA license to enable it to serve U.K. users in a fully compliant manner.
“We’re making a number of very substantial changes in organizational structures, product offerings, our internal processes, and the way we work with regulators,” CZ said in a recent interview with the Telegraph. “We want to continue to establish a presence in the U.K. and serve U.K. users in a fully licensed and fully compliant manner.”
Binance plans to set up a separate company called Binance UK similar to Binance.US within 6 to 18 months. With a U.K. address, it could address FCA concerns on Binance’s opaque structure as it would not be monitored for compliance on money laundering and terrorist financing rules.
CZ also highlighted the advantages of digital currencies over fiat currencies. “Money is still very clunky today,” the CEO said. “We can maintain the same degree of safety, the same degree of compliance, but at the same time making it much faster, much easier, much cheaper to transact.”
In June, the FCA warned Binance that it is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK. “Due to the imposition of requirements by the FCA, Binance Markets Limited is not currently permitted to undertake any regulated activities without the prior written consent of the FCA,” the regulator said. “No other entity in the Binance Group holds any form of UK authorization, registration or license to conduct regulated activity in the UK.”
Aside from the FCA, Binance has also received warnings from regulators in a number of countries. For instance, the Italian Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) warned in July that the Binance Group is not authorized to operate and provide investment services in Italy.
“Consob warns savers that the companies of the ‘Binance Group’ are not authorized to provide investment services and activities in Italy, not even through the website www.binance.com whose sections called ‘derivatives’ and ‘Stock Token,’ relating to instruments related to crypto-assets,” Consob wrote.
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