Binance Stops Services for Canadian Users Amid Strict Regulations

Binance, the well-known crypto exchange, has decided to stop providing services to consumers living in Canada. This decision has been taken at a time when the platform is going through regulatory issues while operating within the country’s jurisdiction. The crypto exchange platform recently announced that its services focused on Canadian customers will come to an end.

Binance Closes Services in Canadian Jurisdiction Due to Regulatory Hurdles

The company has blamed the latest guidelines issued by the country’s authorities. It added that the new instructions for the crypto exchanges operating within the jurisdiction of Canada are very strict. Keeping that in view, the platform stated that the country’s market has not remained acceptable and it would become difficult to keep offering services there.

The statement made by Binance mentioned that the crypto exchange expects an engagement in conversation with the regulatory agencies within the jurisdiction. The purpose of the respective dialogues would be to solve in this respect. It added that there is still hope that someday the crypto exchange will return to the Canadian market.

As per Binance, that will be the time when the consumers in Canada will once again obtain the freedom to reach a wider package of crypto assets. The guidelines being discussed were released back in February by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). They were suggested as provisions related to investor protection after a series of insolvencies that took place in the crypto sector throughout the previous year.

The respective guidelines aim at offshore platforms such as Binance as they serve Canadian consumers. Along with the rest of the commitments, crypto exchange companies were directed by the CSA to separate crypto assets kept for native consumers. The regulatory agency additionally implemented a prohibition over margin trading as well as the rest of the leverage forms.

In addition to this, it also prohibited selling stablecoins if the regulatory agency has not provided permission. In a Twitter post shared on Friday, the crypto exchange argued that the latest guidance put huge pressure on the platform, particularly in the case of the limits imposed on the sales of stablecoins.

The Canada-based consumers belonging to Binance will additionally receive more details regarding the impact of all this on their accounts, as added in the tweet. The decision to quit the financial market of Canada is considered to be substantially hard for the crypto exchange. Though the Canadian proportion of the crypto exchange’s cumulative market is categorized among the minor markets, the platform disclosed that the country had a sentimental value.

While justifying this stance, the company said that Canada is the homeland of Changpeng Zhao (the chief executive officer of Binance). The place of Zhao’s birth is China while he shifted to Canada when he was young. Hence, he holds citizenship in Canada. Before the announcement on Friday, the crypto exchange had signed a contract with the Ontario Securities Commission. This was done to prevent the onboarding process for new clients in the Canadian province.

The Crypto Exchange Keeps Struggling to Maintain Its Position in the United States

As included in that contract, the firm determined that the platform would impose controls to stop trading operations within Ontario or by users from Ontario. Although Binance is pulling back from Canada, it is making great efforts to shield its business interests by fulfilling the conditions of the regulatory agencies in the United States. In this respect, it is attempting to minimize the majority stake of Zhao in Binance.US.