Binance, the world’s largest exchange, has launched a new domain for UK users in accordance with the island nation’s upcoming rules on financial promotions.
The development was announced via a blog post on Oct. 6, as Binance looks to maintain its services under the United Kingdom’s new financial marketing regime, which is set to come into effect on Oct. 8.
Binance adjusts UK services, partners with authorized marketing agencies
In June, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced an overhaul of its rules for marketing crypto assets.
According to the market regulator, these new rules are aimed at ensuring that all potential investors understand the risks associated with dealing with digital assets.
Under this new financial promotions regime, the FCA will eliminate misleading cryptocurrency advertising or incentivized promotional schemes such as “refer a friend” bonuses.
According to a recent Binance blog post, its new UK domain, www.binance.com/en-GB, will only provide access to products and services that comply with upcoming marketing regulations.
These include fiat and crypto deposits and withdrawals, spot trading, margin trading, Binance payments, and crypto loans, among others.
Likewise, UK users will now be unable to access certain Binance services. These include Binance Gift Cards, Academy, Research and Feed features, and referral bonuses.
Additionally, Binance has partnered with Rebuildingssociety.com Limited, an FCA-registered promotions company that will approve all marketing and promotional materials for the exchange.
Back in July, the FCA wrote an open letter to all cryptocurrency companies intending to operate under its new advertising regime, outlining the legal avenues for communicating financial promotions to UK consumers.
Binance appears to have taken one of these routes, namely promotions approved by an authorised person recognised under the FCA’s handbook.
Other methods of marketing under the UK’s new financial promotions regime include direct promotions by authorised persons or crypto asset firms registered with the FCA.
Binance initially submitted a registration application to the FCA but later withdrew the request for unknown reasons.
European regulators publish second set of consultations under MiCA
In other news about European regulation, preparations for implementing the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation remain ongoing.
The latest development in this regard saw the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) publish its second consultation paper on MiCA, seeking feedback from all members of the crypto industry on five areas of MiCA regulation.
These aspects include sustainability criteria for distributed ledgers, trade transparency measures, and technical specifications for the white paper, among others. Interested stakeholders are expected to submit feedback on this consultation by December 14, 2023.
In parallel, ESMA will publish its third and final consultation package on the MiCA Regulation in the first quarter of 2024, and will then draft and submit a final report based on all feedback received for approval by the European Commission on or before June 30, 2024.
The MiCA regulation is widely hailed as the first-ever comprehensive legislative framework for the crypto industry and is expected to be adopted by all EU member states once it is launched in 2024. #币安 #英国