Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has acknowledged that the crackdown on cryptocurrencies has made doing business in the United States challenging. It now wants to be regulated in the UK.
On the sidelines of the FT's Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets Summit, Binance chief strategy officer Patrick Hillman said the past six months have been quite chaotic in the US. He added that the recent action by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against rival ex change Coinbase for alleged violations of securities laws shows that “the US is in this weird place right now.” While Hillmann acknowledged the US environment was “very messy”, he said the company was committed to being regulated in the UK “as best we can ".
This is a departure from his earlier statement that the current crackdown on cryptocurrencies is making it difficult to do business in the United States. Binance has previously run afoul of UK regulators for failing to provide basic information about its business activities, leading the regulator to suggest the exchange is unregulated. In 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority ordered the company to cease all regulated activities in the UK. Other groups claim that UK officials are being too cautious with fintech and crypto companies.
A Binance representative said the company complies with UK rules on money laundering and terrorism financing. They explained that Binance has a compliance program that utilizes anti-money laundering, global sanctions principles, and tools used by financial institutions to de tect and deal with any suspicious activity .
According to Binance, cryptocurrency exchanges can be approved and registered through compliance programs in different jurisdictions around the world, including New Zealand, Dubai, France, Italy, and Spain. This year, Binance has been the target of US regulators cracking down on illicit activity . In March, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Binance, accusing it of operating illegally in the country and violating the law by broadly soliciting US clients. At the time, Binance called the CFTC's complaint “unexpected and disappointment ing. "
