Binance Plans UK Comeback With FCA Licence Bid: Report

Binance is reported to be planning to seek permission from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the hope of its possible reentry into the UK markets once the country's comprehensive crypto regulations come into effect in 2027. The plan is to make the application once the FCA opens its authorisation gateway on September 30, as per the August 15 report by The Telegraph. It should be noted that Binance has not made any official confirmation about making such an application or disclosing which legal entity will apply for the same. 

New UK Rules Would Expand FCA Oversight of Crypto Services

As per the report, if the application is successful, Binance will be able to resume providing regulated services to its customers in the UK once the new regulatory framework comes into effect on October 25, 2027. The approval cannot be guaranteed as the FCA has not stated that it anticipates granting permission to Binance. In June 2021, the FCA had put some conditions on Binance Markets Limited, preventing the company from conducting regulated activities without the regulator's prior written consent. 

In terms of the current warning released by the watchdog, no other entity under the Binance Group has any UK authorisation, registration, or licence for conducting regulated activities. The FCA had earlier stated that Binance Markets Limited cannot be supervised effectively due to the overall structure of the organisation and the risks involved in the products being offered. In 2023, Binance withdrew its application for cancelation of unused UK licences. This effectively made it so that there was no Binance organisation licensed to conduct business in cryptocurrencies in the UK. 

The new framework will increase the FCA's regulatory oversight from financial promotions and anti-money laundering registration to include trading venues, dealing, arranging transactions, custody, staking, lending, and specific stablecoin activities. Firms that receive authorisations will be required to comply with prudential requirements, operational resilience requirements, and financial crime regulations. The new framework will also apply the Consumer Duty and the Senior Managers and Certification Regime to crypto firms.

In June, Binance crypto exchange had withdrawn its application for Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) licensing with the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC), Greece, and plans to apply for licensing in some other member state only a few days ahead of the EU deadline. The exchange held negotiations with Ireland, Latvia, and Greece but faced some resistance due to previous penalties associated with money laundering, international organisations, and what was seen as a culture of risk-taking by the officials.