Binance stops deposits and withdrawals for UK customers
On Monday, Binance said it would suspend withdrawals and deposits for anyone using British currency. The news came after the world’s largest crypto exchange’s banking partner in the UK, Paysafe, said it was leaving crypto, at least as far as Binance is concerned.
In a statement to Gizmodo, a Paysafe spokesperson said it was “too challenging” to offer its built-in wallet cryptocurrency services to UK customers due to the regulatory atmosphere in the UK. Paysafe is based in London, and said this decision was “taken with great care.” Paysafe did not clarify whether they were leaving crypto entirely, or only in partnership with Binance.
Paysafe called its UK part of the crypto business “small”, but clarified that it was still working with Binance elsewhere in Europe and Latin America.
We also reached out to Binance for comment, but did not immediately hear back. Binance suspended withdrawals and deposits for any new customers using British pounds late Monday, and according to Bloomberg the crypto exchange plans to suspend all GBP transactions for all customers starting May 22. The company is reportedly working on finding “an alternative solution” to once again allow customers to trade GBP against crypto.
Last year, the UK’s foremost financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, murmured his worries after Paysafe brought back pound deposits back to Binance. This was after the FCA warned customers Binance did not have permission to offer these faster payment services in the country.
G/O Media may receive a commission
In February, the British government announced its own plans to regulate the crypto market. The The Ministry of Finance’s consultation note, as it is called, can create new rules around crypto custody and lending activities. The The International Monetary Fund has also come out for even more crypto regulationeven going so far as to threaten bans if companies can’t step up enforcement.
This article is part of a development story. Our writers and editors will update this page as new information is released. Check back in a few minutes to see the latest updates. In the meantime, if you want more news coverage, check out ours tech, scienceor io9 the front pages. And you can always see the latest Gizmodo news on gizmodo.com/latest.
