Leading decentralized crypto exchange by trade volume Binance has restored British pound withdrawals using the Faster Payments network.
On June 28, Binance uploaded a notice revealing that withdrawals via Faster Payments, a popular United Kingdom-based inter-bank payments platform, had been suspended for maintenance.
The news came the same week the U.K.’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), ordered Binance Markets Limited and the Binance Group to cease all regulated activities relating to derivatives and securities in the country. This led many to infer the sudden and seemingly opaque suspension of Faster Payments could signal further troubles ahead for the exchange.
According to a June 30 report from Reuters citing a Binance spokesperson, withdrawals via Faster Payments were reinstated on June 29 alongside bank card purchases for U.K. users.
The spokesperson also said that the FCA’s apparent crackdown does not impact the ability of British residents to access the services on its website.
A notice posted to the FCA’s website from last year stated that Binance Markets Limited should not “promote or accept any new applications for lending by retail customers through the operation of its electronic lending system,” or promote Binance, BinanceUK, or EddieUK as being FCA-regulated platforms for cryptocurrency trading.
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Binance.co.uk uploaded a notice stating that Binance Markets Limited was not permitted to undertake regulated activities in the United Kingdom, in compliance with the FCA’s demands:
“Binance.com is a platform providing various products and services to global customers. Some of these products and services are regulated outside the UK, while others are not. Binance Markets Limited is a UK based company which has not yet carried on any business. BINANCE MARKETS LIMITED IS NOT PERMITTED TO UNDERTAKE ANY REGULATED ACTIVITIES IN THE UK.”
In June 2020, Binance announced it had acquired an “FCA-regulated entity,” noting that Binance.UK would be operated by Binance Markets Limited moving forward.