The UK’s financial watchdog just took one of the most significant regulatory moves to date against a cryptocurrency exchange as global scrutiny of the industry hardens.
The move extends a regulatory crackdown on the cryptocurrency sector amid concerns about its potential involvement in money laundering and fraud. Binance withdrew an application related to the 5MLD — an anti-laundering directive — on May 17 after “intensive engagement from the FCA,” according to the watchdog, which said the action had been in progress for some time.
A Binance spokesperson said via email that the FCA’s notice restricts, but doesn’t remove, permissions owned by Binance Markets. A “significantly high” number of cryptoasset businesses aren’t meeting the required standards under the money laundering regulations, which has resulted in an unprecedented number of businesses withdrawing their applications, an FCA spokesperson said.The FCA has warned consumers repeatedly of the risks of trading in cryptocurrencies, saying in January that investors “should be prepared to lose all their money.
🤔🤔