Cryptocurrency prices rose Monday despite regulators cracking down on affiliates of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance.
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Alexandra Clark, sales trader at digital asset broker GlobalBlock explained why cryptocurrencies had risen on Monday: “Bitcoin came just shy of $35,000 during Asian trading this morning following a bearish weekend which saw the asset slump to a Saturday low of $30,300.
“On-chain signals indicate that strong hands are aggressively buying the bitcoin dip. The amount of stablecoins held in all exchange wallets has reached an all-time-high of $17 billion, suggesting that investors are getting ready to enter the crypto markets.”
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On Saturday the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a “consumer warning” on Binance Markets Limited (BML) and the Binance Group.
It said: “Binance Markets Limited is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK. This firm is part of a wider Group (Binance Group). Due to the imposition of requirements by the FCA, Binance Markets Limited is not currently permitted to undertake any regulated activities without the prior written consent of the FCA.
“No other entity in the Binance Group holds any form of U.K. authorisation, registration or licence to conduct regulated activity in the UK. The Binance Group appear to be offering U.K. customers a range of products and services via a website, Binance.com.”
It also warned consumers to be wary of adverts online and on social media promising high returns on investments in cryptoasset or cryptoasset-related products.
Japan’s financial watchdog issued a statement on June 25, saying that Binance isn’t registered to do business in the country.
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), issued a statement on Friday warning Binance is offering services in the country without authorization.
Binance said in a statement: “We are aware of recent reports about an FCA U.K. notice in relation to Binance Markets Limited (BML). BML is a separate legal entity and does not offer any products or services via the Binance.com website.
“The FCA U.K. notice has no direct impact on the services provided on Binance.com. Our relationship with our users has not changed. We take a collaborative approach in working with regulators and we take our compliance obligations very seriously. We are actively keeping abreast of changing policies, rules and laws in this new space.”
Binance acquired BML in May 2020 and it has not yet launched its U.K. business or used its FCA regulatory permissions. BML has been approached for comment.
Binance Group is currently based in the Cayman Islands, while Binance Markets Limited is an affiliate firm based in London.
While the FCA does not regulate cryptocurrencies, it is a requirement for exchanges to register with it and Binance Markets Limited has been given a deadline of Wednesday to do so.