- Binance has launched a new domain for UK users so that it complies with the country’s recent crypto regulations
- The UK has introduced stricter measures to protect crypto investors, including the ‘Travel Rule’ and advertising restrictions
- Binance has taken steps to ensure compliance, including restricting certain services to UK users
Binance has launched a new domain for UK users that complies with tough new crypto regulations that have seen some entities leave the country. The exchange giant announced the new domain last night following complaints over the weekend from UK users that they were being barred from using the mobile app without warning. Starting yesterday, UK retail users are redirected to a new domain that will allow them access only to products that Binance can offer in compliance with UK regulations.
Marketing Clampdown Comes Into Effect
The UK recently introduced a raft of new measures aimed at protecting British crypto investors, with the Financial Action Task Force’s ‘Travel Rule’ playing a part in the revamp, as well as a clampdown on advertising. The country’s financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), announced the rule changes in June and ratified them in September, promising “Tough new rules designed to make the marketing of cryptoasset products clearer and more accurate,” with a ban on ‘refer a friend’ bonuses.
This marketing clampdown and the concomitant reduction in the number of products that exchanges can offer consumers has proved too onerous for some crypto firms to accept; ByBit announced last month that it was quitting the UK, while PayPal announced in August that it was halting its crypto program until 2024 in order to make itself compliant.
Binance Making Itself Compliant
Despite not being overseen directly by the FCA, Binance has nevertheless worked to make itself compliant, releasing an update yesterday in which it revealed that a number of services are now inaccessible to UK users, including gift cards and referral bonuses. This is in addition to the ban on leverage trading, which has been prohibited for British crypto exchange users since 2021.
Some British Binance users complained over the weekend that they were denied functionality on the Binance app with no warning due to the new rules being implemented and were made to take a crypto comprehension test.
