Bitcoin briefly sheds $8 billion in market cap after Binance quits Canada

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, has had enough with Canada.

The company announced its plans to cease business operations in the North American nation on Twitter. Bitcoin dipped briefly on the news.

“Unfortunately, today we are announcing that Binance will be joining other prominent crypto businesses in proactively withdrawing from the Canadian marketplace,” the post read, before waxing sentimental. “Albeit a small market, it held sentimental value for us as the home country of our founder. We had high hopes for the rest of the Canadian blockchain industry.”

Binance also said the nation’s guidance limited operations to the point of being untenable. “We put off this decision as long as we could to explore other reasonable avenues to protect our Canadian users, but it has become apparent that there are none,” the post also said. 

Briefly bitcoin’s market capitalization whipsawed, dipping to about $501 billion from $509 billion. The market cap quickly recovered, however, rising again above $510 billion.

TradingView screenshot of bitcoin’s market capitalization

“Seems like a natural reaction to continued regulatory uncertainty for Binance,” according to The Block Research Analyst Kevin Peng. “Markets have been shaky in the past week as rumors of trouble at Binance have bubbled up.”

The company, led by CEO Changpeng Zhao, also left the door open for a return to the market, if Canadian regulators come around. “While we do not agree with the new guidance, we hope to continue to engage with Canadian regulators aimed at a thoughtful, comprehensive regulatory framework. We are confident that we will someday return to the market when Canadian users once again have the freedom to access a broader suite of digital assets.”

Binance’s issues with Canada goes back at least couple years. In 2021, the company stopped doing business in the province of Ontario amid a regulatory crackdown. Both Paxos and dYdX left the country this year after the Canadian Securities Administrators published new regulations in February.

The company also stated that its Canadian customers would receive more information by email. 

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