Binance suspends pound sterling services for U.K. customers as payment provider backs out
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, halted British pound deposits and withdrawals for new customers on Monday and will end all such transactions in May after provider Paysafe said it will no longer offer the service in light of U.K. regulations, according to a report in Decrypt that cited a Binance notice sent to customers.
See related article: Binance suspends international U.S. dollar transfers, CEO indicates issues with banks
Fast facts
Binance halted sterling deposits and withdrawals for new users on Monday and said that it would suspend such transactions for all customers on May 22, according to the report
Binance’s announcement comes after London-based payments firm Paysafe, a local partner of the exchange for fiat on and off-ramps, said it would stop providing sterling transfer services for U.K. users.
“We have concluded that the U.K. regulatory environment in relation to crypto is too challenging to offer this service at this time and so this is a prudent decision on our part taken in an abundance of caution,” Paysafe said in a statement on Tuesday.
In 2021, Binance temporarily suspended British pound transfers after the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority said the exchange wasn’t permitted to operate in the country. Its bank transfer service resumed through Paysafe in February 2022.
Last month, the U.K. Treasury released a consultation paper, introducing a new crypto regulatory framework to regulate crypto activities under the same regime as traditional financial services.
On Feb. 8, Binance suspended U.S. dollar deposits and withdrawals for non-U.S. customers after Signature Bank said it would limit the service. Customers at Binance.US are not affected by the suspension, according to a tweet from Binance.US Customer Support.
U.S. regulators shut Signature Bank over the weekend due to solvency and management concerns following the run on Silicon Valley Bank in the prior days that resulted in regulators taking over both banks to prevent.
(Updates to change headline, add sources of information.)
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