"Britain\u2019s crackdown on Binance boosts the cryptocurrency exchange\u2019s rivals"

" \n Britain\u2019s move to block Binance is boosting rival cryptocurrency exchanges, which have reported a surge in new users in the country recently. \n \n\n \n The Financial Conduct Authority recently announced a\u00a0crackdown on Binance, the world\u2019s top crypto exchange by trading volume, restricting the company from carrying out regulated activities in the U.K. \n \n\n \n Binance withdrew its application to register as a licensed crypto asset firm in the U.K. in May due to\u00a0not meeting anti-money laundering requirements, the markets watchdog said. \n \n\n \n While Binance is technically allowed to continue offering crypto trading to Brits, it was ordered by regulators to add a notice to its website saying it is not authorized to operate in the U.K. \n \n\n \n For its part, Binance said the measures only targeted its U.K. entity, Binance Markets Limited, and would have no impact on services provided in the country by Binance.com. \n \n\n \n But following the FCA\u2019s restrictions, Binance has suffered subsequent setbacks in Britain. Customers were temporarily unable to make card withdrawals due to an issue with the U.K.\u2019s Faster Payments system. Meanwhile, the bank\u00a0Barclays\u00a0has blocked customers from sending payments to the crypto exchange. \n \n\n \n Binance\u2019s woes in the U.K. have been a boon to its rivals, though, some of which have seen user numbers double since the FCA restrictions were announced. \n \n\n \n \u201cWe\u2019re seeing an increase in customers in the U.K. coming to us, with no changes in marketing,\u201d Julian Sawyer, CEO of Luxembourg-based exchange Bitstamp, told CNBC. \n \n\n \n As of Tuesday, Bitstamp had seen its customers grow 138% since the FCA issued its notice about Binance on June 25. Binance declined to comment on this story when contacted by CNBC. \n \n\n \n \u201cI think it\u2019s a flight to safety,\u201d Sawyer added. \u201cIf you\u2019re told that the bank you\u2019re with is less secure, you move the money out of the bank and move it into the next bank which is super secure.\u201d \n \n\n \n Meanwhile, U.S.-based exchange Kraken has also benefited. \n \n\n \n \u201cThe percentage share of signups from the U.K. has approximately doubled in the last couple of weeks, compared to signups in Kraken\u2019s other leading markets,\u201d a Kraken spokesperson told CNBC. \n \n\n \n Gemini, the digital currency exchange started by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is one of the few companies listed on the FCA\u2019s list of registered crypto asset firms. \n \n\n \n \u201cWe have seen tremendous user growth as consumers look towards approved firms when entering the market,\u201d Blair Halliday, Gemini\u2019s head of U.K., told CNBC. \n \n\n \n \u201cWe expect to see exchanges and custodians registered with the FCA continue to gain market share due to the value placed on the approval process,\u201d he added. \n \n\n \n Coinbase, America\u2019s largest crypto exchange, declined to comment on this story. \n \n\n \n Crypto crackdown \n \n\n \n Binance\u2019s woes haven\u2019t been limited to the U.K. \n \n\n \n On Tuesday, Binance said it had temporarily suspended euro bank deposits through the Single Euro Payments Area payments scheme, due to \u201cevents beyond our control.\u201d \n \n\n \n And regulators in Canada, Japan and Thailand have also issued warnings to the company about it operating without authorization. \n \n\n \n Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, better known in the industry as \u201cCZ,\u201d\u00a0said in a blog post Wednesday\u00a0the exchange \u201cstill has a lot of room to grow\u201d and that it hasn\u2019t always gotten things right. \n \n\n \n \u201cCompliance is a journey \u2013 especially in new sectors like crypto,\u201d Zhao said, adding Binance is hiring more compliance staff and localizing operations to better meet its regulatory obligations. \n \n\n \n It follows a number of steps taken by regulators in China to clamp down on the crypto industry. Several regions in the country have moved to stamp out energy-intensive crypto mining operations, amid concerns over their environmental impact. \n \n\n \n Earlier this week, Beijing\u00a0called for the shutdown\u00a0of a company suspected of providing software for virtual currency transactions, reiterating its tough stance on crypto. \n \n\n \n Digital currencies rallied at the start to the year, with\u00a0bitcoin\u00a0jumping to an all-time high of almost $65,000 in April. But they\u2019ve since fallen sharply, with the overall crypto market losing more than $1 trillion in value in the last two months. \n "

"Britain\u2019s crackdown on Binance boosts the cryptocurrency exchange\u2019s rivals"

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