Binance looks to the UK for regulation amid US crypto crackdown

Binance seeks regulation in the U.K. amid a U.S. crackdown on cryptocurrencies as its chief strategy officer acknowledges the challenging business environment in the United States.

Crypto exchange Binance has acknowledged that a crackdown on cryptocurrencies has made conducting business in the United States challenging. It is now looking to be regulated in the United Kingdom.

During the Financial Times’ Crypto and Digital Assets Summit, Patrick Hillmann, Binance’s chief strategy officer, said that the past six months have been quite confusing in the United States. He added that the recent actions taken by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against rival exchange Coinbase for allegedly violating securities laws are an indication of how “the U.S. right now is in this strange place.“

While Hillmann acknowledged the “very confusing” environment in the U.S., he expressed the company’s commitment to doing “everything we possibly can” to be regulated in the United Kingdom.

This is a change of tone from his earlier statement that the current crackdown on crypto had made it difficult to do business in the United States. Binance has previously clashed with U.K. regulators over its failure to provide essential information about its business activity, which led regulators to suggest the exchange was unregulatable.

In 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority ordered the company to stop all regulated activities in Britain. Other groups have claimed that U.K. officials have been overly wary of fintech and crypto companies.

A representative from Binance stated that the company adheres to regulations concerning money laundering and terrorism financing in the United Kingdom. They explained that Binance has a compliance program, which utilizes Anti-Money Laundering, global sanctions principles, and tools employed by financial institutions to detect and address any suspicious activity.

According to Binance, the crypto exchange can secure approvals and registration through the compliance program in various jurisdictions across the globe, including New Zealand, Dubai, France, Italy and Spain.

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Binance has been the target of U.S. regulators clamping down on perceived illicit activity this year. In March, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) brought a lawsuit against Binance, alleging it had been operating illegally in the country and had broken the law by extensively soliciting U.S. customers. At the time, Binance called the CFTC complaint “unexpected and disappointing.”

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