Binance Crypto Exchange Will Stop Onboarding UK Customers

Crypto exchange Binance has announced that it will stop accepting new British users.

In a Monday announcement, the world’s biggest digital asset company said that at 5 p.m. U.K. time, no new British customers will be able to sign up to the exchange.

It added that it encouraged existing users to be well-informed before investing in cryptocurrencies on the platform.

Britain’s financial watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) dropped new rules last week which require crypto firms to register with the financial regulator and have their marketing approved by an FCA-authorized firm.

Exchanges also have to provide fair warnings to customers about the risks involved in crypto investments.

Binance used Rebuildingsociety.com to have its promos and ads approved in the U.K. but the FCA last week added the firm to its list of regulated companies banned from promoting crypto services in Britain.

Binance said Monday that it was “currently looking for a new FCA authorized approver” so it could comply and continue to onboard customers.

“We are working closely with the FCA to ensure that our users are not harmed by these developments and are looking to find another suitable FCA authorised firm to approve our financial promotions as soon as possible,” Binance added.

The crypto exchange has struggled in the U.K. as of late. Earlier this year the exchange suspended pound sterling deposits and withdrawals and it lost its European banking partner, Paysafe Payment Solutions.

“Following a strategic review, we have taken the decision to cease offering our embedded wallet solution to Binance across the EEA region,” Paysafe told Decrypt in an emailed statement at the time. “Paysafe and Binance are now working to mutually implement an orderly and fair process to terminate this service over the next few months.”

Binance is currently facing heightened regulatory scrutiny in not only the U.K. but also the U.S., Germany, France, and the Netherlands.