Binance Slams US Crypto Crackdown and Seeks UK Oversight

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has said a crackdown on crypto has made it "very difficult" to do business in the US, adding that it now hopes to be regulated in the UK.

Patrick Hillmann, the company’s chief strategy officer, said that the US "has been very confusing over the past six months". He pointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s actions against rival exchange Coinbase over alleged securities laws violations as a sign of how "the US right now is in this weird place".

In contrast with his comments that it was now a “very difficult time” to do business in the US, Hillmann said Binance would do “everything we possibly can” to be regulated in the UK.

Binance had previously clashed with London regulators who said the exchange was incapable of being regulated after it failed to provide basic information about its business activity. The group has no fixed headquarters and offers services around the world.

In 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority ordered the company to stop all regulated activities in Britain, and last year a joint venture partner said the company had filed a "grossly inaccurate" annual report for one of its UK subsidiaries.

Hillman declined to confirm whether the company had reapplied to the FCA's registration regime for crypto businesses, which covers companies’ processes to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.

Other groups have claimed that UK officials have been overly wary of fintech and crypto companies. This week, the head of payments company Revolut blamed "extra cautious" UK regulators for delays in gaining its banking licence.

(Source: Financial Times)