Ontario Securities Commission Issues Warning Against Binance

Fazzaco learned that the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), one of the thirteen provincial financial regulators in Canada, has added Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange giant to its list of companies not to do business with.

According to the regulator, Binance is not registered under securities law in Ontario. This means they are not authorized to offer trading in derivatives or securities to persons or companies located in the province.

In June, Binance has decided to stop offering its services to clients from Ontario due to mounting regulatory obligations for crypto businesses in this province. The exchange stated that it could no longer continue to service Ontario-based users and urged existing traders from the province to close their Binance accounts by December 31, 2021.

However, Binance recently published an update for Ontario users, saying that it has registered in Canada as a Money Services Business with FINTRAC and there is no need for Ontario users to close their accounts by December 31, 2021. Binance did not meet directly with the OSC about their intentions.

"Binance represented to OSC Staff that no new transactions involving Ontario residents would occur after December 31, 2021. Binance has issued a notice to users, without any notification to the OSC, rescinding this commitment. This is unacceptable,"the commission said.

Binance's troubles with regulators began earlier this year as many issued warnings against the exchange for alleged illegal operations and breach of securities market guidelines. Earlier this year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has put Binance.com on its Investor Alert List.​