Fresh crisis for Binance in Canada

TL;DR Breakdown

• OSC says Binance is not registered to operate, warns investors.
• Canda crackdown hard on unregistered exchanges in 2021.

Regulators in Canada, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has announced again that Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange isn’t authorized to operate in Ontario, according to the province’s securities regulator.

The OSC in a statement, recently notified investors that the exchange is not registered under securities law in Ontario.

“The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is notifying investors that Binance is not registered under securities law in Ontario. This means they are not authorized to offer trading in derivatives or securities to persons or companies located in the province, the statement read in parts.

The OSC’s statement came after users of the said exchange in Ontario received emails earlier this week, saying that the exchange would continue to operate in Ontario.

“As a result of ongoing and positive cooperation with Canadian regulators, Binance in Canada has been successful in taking its first steps on the regulatory path by registering as a Money Service Provider with FinTrac,” the exchange said previously.

After the exchange previously told users not to close their accounts again, the regulators revolted.

Beyond Binance, Canada fires down on unregistered exchanges

In June 2021, the OSC stopped trading on centralized crypto exchanges that offer derivatives products, including Poloniex, ByBit, and KuCoin. At that time, the exchange told its users to close all active positions by the end of the year only to revert that instruction and draw the ire of the OSC.

“Binance represented to OSC Staff that no new transactions involving Ontario residents would occur after December 31, 2021. Binance has issued a notice to users, rescinding this commitment without any notification to the OSC. This is unacceptable,” the OSC wrote.

The agency stressed that “no entity in the Binance group of companies holds any form of securities registration in Ontario.”

Only six exchanges, Wealthsimple, Coinberry, Netcoins, CoinSmart, Fidelity, and Bitbuy are registered to operate in Ontario and every other part of Canada.

The OSC’s latest statement is another setback to the world largest exchange, which has faced pushback from regulators across the globe over the past year.